This paper considers recent developments in English education policy as, confirming promises made in the 2016 White Paper, 'Educational Excellence Everywhere," schools are now to concentrate on the realisation of a knowledge-based curriculum, one that allows all students to 'acquire' cultural capital. First, the remodelling of Bourdieu's…

University students often struggle to understand the role of water in plant cells. In particular, osmosis and plasmolysis appear to be challenging topics. This study attempted to identify student difficulties (including misconceptions) concerning osmosis and plasmolysis and examined to what extent the difficulties could be revised during a plant…

This chapter provides an example of how we can analyze a questionable explanation using the categories presented in the previous two chapters, namely alert signals and risk factors. These categories are first summarized in two tables which then serve as an analysis grid for different texts. Next, we take two examples (osmosis and capillary rise),…

Students in an animal physiology course are required to have completed prerequisite cell biology and genetics courses that include discussion of basic properties and functions of the cell membrane. However, while many students remember basic information about membrane structure, they often have difficulty relating that structure to membrane…

The concepts of diffusion and osmosis cross the disciplinary boundaries of physics, chemistry and biology. They are important for understanding how biological systems function. Since future (pre-service) science teachers in Slovenia encounter both concepts at physics, chemistry and biology courses during their studies, we assessed the first-,…

New Zealand's increasingly heterogeneous population places manifold demands on the education sector to integrate children who do not speak English as a first language. Limited research exists on how minority language children acquire English within early childhood education settings and how teachers support this development. This article reports…

This chapter provides several examples of early activation of a critical attitude during a discussion of questionable explanations. One concerns the use of the survival blanket to protect against the cold, a theme which leads to discussion of a compromise between two imperatives: that of returning as much energy as possible to oneself (by putting…

Can critical analysis be carried out without the support of minimal conceptual structuring in the field in question? The results of a research survey of beginning teachers are briefly discussed. Interviews on radiocarbon dating illustrate what we call a "delayed critique", i.e. after a phase of critical passivity and concomitant…

The objective of this study is to describe the way in which two important biological phenomena, namely diffusion and osmosis, are addressed in the classroom. The study builds on extensive research conducted over the past twenty years showing that students' appropriation of these two phenomena remains partial and incomplete. To understand some of…

Scence educational standards are increasingly emphasising on argumentation skills. However, students' argumentation skills are often not developed well as their experience of science knowledge in schools is often in the form of uncontested facts. This research asserts that argumentation skills should be developed through explicit teaching of…

This simple inquiry-based lab was designed to teach the principle of osmosis while also providing an experience for students to use the skills and practices commonly found in science. Students first design their own experiment using very basic equipment and supplies, which generally results in mixed, but mostly poor, outcomes. Classroom "talk…

Several studies on Virtual Exchange (VE) have highlighted positive learning experiences, increases in technological pedagogical and content skills (TPACK) and foreign language (FL) competence. However, most VE research to date use qualitative or descriptive case-studies of how VEs have been implemented, and what "might" have worked. In…

Initial teacher education and experiences of the professional cultures of teaching contribute to teachers' understandings about how to engage with parents. Drawing on qualitative research data, and informed by Michel de Certeau's theory of culture and everyday life, this paper explores how everyday beliefs and professional practices that shape…

The aim of the research is to provide a general framework for POE used in biology education using meta-synthesis. In this research; studies on the use of the prediction-observation-explanation (POE) in biology education between the years 2000-2020 in Turkey and the World have been examined considering research type, distribution of the studies by…

Despite the increasing interests and practices in interdisciplinary science education, little research has been documented to develop effective assessments targeting students' interdisciplinary learning. In response to this gap, a team of scientists and educators developed an interdisciplinary assessment instrument targeting osmosis, which was…