Inside Science Education Reform

Inside Science Education Reform

Author: J. Myron Atkin

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0807743186

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Two international leaders offer important insights into the ways in which the discipline of science education has developed and how school curriculum has been shaped by both scientific discovery and social change. J Myron Atkin (U.S.) and Paul Black (U.K.) share their vast and varied experiences in this historical account that chronicles the many developments in the field from the end of World War II to the present. The chapters in this volume cover: the aims and politics of science education, curriculum development, subject matter boundaries, pedagogy and learning, assessment and evaluation, educational research and practice, and the teaching profession. Each theme is introduced in its historical and philosophical context, with current issues emphasized. The authors then analyze these themes by drawing on relevant episodes from their transatlantic careers. These episodes act as a springboard for developing insights into each theme, including comparisons between educational practices in the United States and the United Kingdom. Featuring compelling examples and a cohesive presentation, this groundbreaking volume is essential reading for anyone making decisions about the future of science education.


The Role of Public Policy in K-12 Science Education

The Role of Public Policy in K-12 Science Education

Author: George E. DeBoer

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 1617352268

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The goal of this volume of Research in Science Education is to examine the relationship between science education policy and practice and the special role that science education researchers play in influencing policy. It has been suggested that the science education research community is isolated from the political process, pays little attention to policy matters, and has little influence on policy. But to influence policy, it is important to understand how policy is made and how it is implemented. This volume sheds light on the intersection between policy and practice through both theoretical discussions and practical examples. This book was written primarily about science education policy development in the context of the highly decentralized educational system of the United States. But, because policy development is fundamentally a social activity involving knowledge, values, and personal and community interests, there are similarities in how education policy gets enacted and implemented around the world. This volume is meant to be useful to science education researchers and to practitioners such as teachers and administrators because it provides information about which aspects of the science education enterprise are affected by state, local, and national policies. It also provides helpful information for researchers and practitioners who wonder how they might influence policy. In particular, it points out how the values of people who are affected by policy initiatives are critical to the implementation of those policies.


Scientists in the Classroom

Scientists in the Classroom

Author: J. Rudolph

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2002-05-02

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0230107362

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

During the 1950s, leading American scientists embarked on an unprecedented project to remake high school science education. Dissatisfaction with the 'soft' school curriculum of the time advocated by the professional education establishment, and concern over the growing technological sophistication of the Soviet Union, led government officials to encourage a handful of elite research scientists, fresh from their World War II successes, to revitalize the nations' science curricula. In Scientists in the Classroom , John L. Rudolph argues that the Cold War environment, long neglected in the history of education literature, is crucial to understanding both the reasons for the public acceptance of scientific authority in the field of education and the nature of the curriculum materials that were eventually produced. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped resources from government and university archives, Rudolph focuses on the National Science Foundation-supported curriculum projects initiated in 1956. What the historical record reveals, according to Rudolph, is that these materials were designed not just to improve American science education, but to advance the professional interest of the American scientific community in the postwar period as well.


Science Education for Everyday Life

Science Education for Everyday Life

Author: Glen S. Aikenhead

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9780807746349

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides a comprehensive overview of humanistic approaches to science. Approaches that connect students to broader human concerns in their everyday life and culture. Glen Aikenhead, an expert in the field of culturally sensitive science education, summarizes major worldwide historical findings; focuses on present thinking; and offers evidence in support of classroom practice. This highly accessible text covers curriculum policy, teaching materials, teacher orientations, teacher education, student learning, culture studies, and future research.


Science Education in Context

Science Education in Context

Author: Richard K. Coll

Publisher: Brill / Sense

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789087902476

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book presents an international perspective of the influence of educational context on science education. The focus is on the interactions between curriculum development and implementation, particularly in non-Western and non-English-speaking contexts (i.e., outside the UK, USA, Australia, NZ, etc. ). An important and distinguishing feature of the book is that it draws upon the experiences and research from local experts from an extremely diverse cohort across the world (26 countries in total). The book addresses topics such as: curriculum development; research or evaluation of an implemented curriculum; discussion of pressures driving curriculum reform or implementation of new curricula (e. g., technology or environmental education); the influence of political, cultural, societal or religious mores on education; governmental or ministerial drives for curriculum reform; economic or other pressures driving curriculum reform; the influence of external assessment regimes on curriculum; and so on.


Reform in Undergraduate Science Teaching for the 21st Century

Reform in Undergraduate Science Teaching for the 21st Century

Author: Dennis W. Sunal

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2006-05-01

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1607525429

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The mission of the book series, Research in Science Education, is to provide a comprehensive view of current and emerging knowledge, research strategies, and policy in specific professional fields of science education. This series would present currently unavailable, or difficult to gather, materials from a variety of viewpoints and sources in a usable and organized format. Each volume in the series would present a juried, scholarly, and accessible review of research, theory, and/or policy in a specific field of science education, K-16. Topics covered in each volume would be determined by present issues and trends, as well as generative themes related to current research and theory. Published volumes will include empirical studies, policy analysis, literature reviews, and positing of theoretical and conceptual bases.


Science/Technology/Society as Reform in Science Education

Science/Technology/Society as Reform in Science Education

Author: Robert E. Yager

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 1996-01-04

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 143842454X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Science/Technology/Society (S/T/S) is a reform effort to broaden science as a discipline in schools and colleges; to relate science to other facets of the curriculum; and to relate science specifically to technology and to the society that supports and produces new conceptualizations of both. S/T/S is also defined as the teaching and learning of science/technology in the context of human experience. It focuses on a method of teaching that recognizes the importance that experience in the real world has on the learning process. And it recognizes that real learning can occur only when the learner is engaged and able to construct her or his own meaning. Science/Technology/Society as Reform in Science Education, is rich with examples of such teaching and learning. It includes impressive research evidence that illustrates that progress has been made and goals have been met. For teachers and administrators alike, this book provides and validates new visions for science education.


Policy and Practice in Science Education for the Gifted

Policy and Practice in Science Education for the Gifted

Author: Manabu Sumida

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-03-16

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1317803647

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Gifted education has come to be regarded as a key national programme in many coutnries, and gifted education in science disciplines is now being recognised to be of major importance for economic and technological development. Despite these initiatives and developments internationally, there are very few discussions on gifted education in science drawing upon practices and experiences in different national contexts. In support of an international dialogue between researchers and practitioners, often working within isolated traditions, this book offers information on key influential approaches to science education for gifted learners and surveys current policy and practice from a diverse range of educational contexts. The volume offers an informative introduction for those new to studying gifted science education, as well as supporting the development of the field by offering examples of critical thinking about key issues, and accounts of the influences at work within education systems and the practical complexities of providing science education for the gifted. The contributions draw upon a variety of research approaches to offer insights into the constraints and affordancxes of working within particular policy contexts, and the strengths and challenges inherent in different approaches to practice. Chapters include: Teaching science to the gifted in English state schools: locating a compromised 'gifted & talented' policy within its systemic context Models of education for science talented adolescents in the United States: Past, present, and likely future trends Navigating the shifting terrain between policy and practice for gifted learners in Tanzania Science education for female indigenous gifted students in the Mexican context Gifted Science Education in the Context of Japanese Standardization This book will appeal to scholars, practitioners and policy makers who are in the field of gifted science education.


Connecting Girls and Science

Connecting Girls and Science

Author: Elaine V. Howes

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 9780807742105

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Shows the positive results that can occur in secondary science classes when student's curiosity about science is brought to the centre of the curriculum. In particular, it demonstrates how girls can become more interested when such topics as childbirth and sexism in science are included.


A History of Ideas in Science Education

A History of Ideas in Science Education

Author: George DeBoer

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2019-07-05

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 0807778095

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

By allowing key scientists, researchers, professors, and classroom teachers of science to speak for themselves through their published writings about what is best and needed for the field, Dr. DeBoer presents a fascinating account of the history of science education in the United States from the middle of the 19th century to the present. The book relates how science first struggled to find a place in the school curriculum and recounts the many debates over the years about what that curriculum should be. In fact, many of what we consider modern ideas in science education are not new at all but can be traced to writings on education of one hundred years ago. The book is aimed at all those interested in science education: classroom teachers and science education leaders concerned about the historical justification of the goals and strategies proposed for the field. The book should be enjoyed not only by the researcher but also by anyone curious about just how curriculum is decided upon and implemented on a national scale. “This is without question the finest book of its kind on the market. It deserves to be widely read by current and future science teachers, supervisors, science education faculty in colleges and universities, curriculum developers, and program officers in funding agencies.” —The Science Teacher “Adds a significant dimension to the history of American schooling and curriculum.” —History of Education Quarterly