Rethink Science Education

The rethink of science (or science and technology*) education requires consideration of a philosophy for the "education through science" provision. The philosophy needs to address the lack of popularity of science in schools and to lead to a provision that better prepares students for life within society. In so doing, it needs to provide students with a better awareness of science and technology within society.

While science teaching can be taken to be equivalent to science education, care is needed when using the term 'science', or 'teaching of science' so as to avoid confusion between a 'way of knowing' and 'acquiring educational goals'. The latter, of course, includes the gaining of knowledge as well as a way of knowing, but it also relates to values, development of personal attributes and the gaining of communication skills (assuming these are goals of education).

The "education through science" to which students strive can be referred to as education for scientific and technological literacy (STL). This literacy is far from a simple consideration of reading and writing and covers all the goals of education from knowledge, to skills, to values within a science and technology context. It certainly includes critical and political scientific literacy (Hodson, 2002). However the meaning of literacy, in STL differs, depending on the education received and the educational objectives stipulated, at a given educational level, within a specific country.

In the context of the new philosophy put forward, STL means 'developing the ability to creatively utilise sound science knowledge (and ways of working), in everyday life, to solve problems, make decisions and hence improve the quality of life' (Holbrook and Rannikmae, 1997). This is based on acquiring educational skills involving intellectual, attitudinal, communicative, societal and interdisciplinary learning. It identifies with the meaning of scientific literacy put forward by PISA 2000 (OECD, 2000) "scientific literacy is the capacity to use scientific knowledge to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity".

Within formal schooling, STL may be more appropriately defined as 'that science and technology education which is intended within the school curriculum to maximise the role of science and technology education in aiding students to acquire the goals of general education, as stipulated by society within a country'.

The operationalisation of the STL philosophy is based on effecting paradigm changes in science education.

*While science and technology differ, there is little evidence that science education differs from technology education. The combined expression is thus the same as or no better than the single entity, but may reflect a more society oriented teaching.