ERIC Number: EJ994274
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1377
EISSN: N/A
Developing Science Education Policies: How Far Is It Evidence-Based?
Oversby, John; McGregor, Deb
Education in Science, n249 p28-29 Sep 2012
Construction of science education policy is, for most practising educators, somewhat shrouded in mist. Policies are currently conveyed by the present Secretary of State with responsibility for education through presentations of governmental papers and curricular documents. While it may seem strange that a politician can be elected one day, and announce policies within days of coming to power, these are often the products of months or years of deliberation beforehand. Core values or educational intentions are usually evident in political manifestos. These statements of position and intent inform the electorate of carefully crafted policies, intended to highlight potential governmental aims and objectives, at least in the UK system. These often judiciously construed plans represent a careful collation between ideology, evidence (from the UK or international), and appeal for the voters to gather popularity that will secure an elected government. Inevitably, only part of the process is transparent, that for which evidence and debate is in the public domain. Much of the policy formulation is channelled through specialist advisers and civil servants, whose contributions are highly influential, but largely hidden from public view. This article considers information available within the public domain and, as such, therefore only really begins to assess how evidence informs policy-making. It is intended to highlight for readers how far policy appears to be informed by evidence. It should be noted that, whilst this piece draws heavily upon material about education policy in general, that which refers to science education policy specifically is relatively sparse.
Descriptors: Educational Policy, Evidence, Science Education, Values, Foreign Countries, Scientific Concepts, Scientific Literacy, STEM Education, Mathematics Education, Engineering
Association for Science Education. College Lane Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AA, UK. Tel: +44-1707-283000; Fax: +44-1707-266532; e-mail: info@ase.org.uk; Web site: http://www.ase.org.uk
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for International Student Assessment; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A