In her article, "The Scientification of Skin Whitening and the Entrepreneurial University- Linked Corporate Scientific Officer," published in this issue, Amina Mire (2012) deconstructs the tacit investments implicit in such discourses of beauty, in particular those linked to cosmetic products that purport to fight the "war on aging" through the…

In this article the authors respond to a recent special issue of the "Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education" (Alsop & Bencze, 2010) in which the role of environmental activism in science, mathematics, and technology education (SMTE) was addressed. Although they applaud this Special Issue's invitation to begin a new…

David Burns and Stephen Norris's (2012) article entitled "Activist Environmental Education and Moral Philosophy" offers a thought-provoking response to the CJSMTE special edition. The authors would like to thank these authors for their supportive and philosophically adroit arguments. Burns and Norris provide an opportunity to continue the…

Investigates the pros and cons of integrating environmental education into the school curriculum. Focusing solely on environmental education's role in the school curriculum ignores a range of factors that affect its efficacy in the majority of the world. Suggests a conceptualization of environmental education that takes into account a range of…

Comments on the article 'Time to Change Drivers for Science Literacy' by Peter Fensham and addresses two issues: (1) Why is reforming the science curriculum so hard?; and (2) What are the potential possibilities of and problems with Fensham's reform proposal? (Contains 12 references.) (Author/YDS)

Comments on the criticisms of Fensham (2002) of scientific literacy curricula being designed by scientists and science educators. Suggests that an analysis of literacy leads to several propositions from which the analogy with scientific literacy can be drawn. (Author/YDS)

Comments on new ideas being charted by new scientists and new science educators. Discusses two directions and examines who the scientists working in science education and the science educators are. Describes the disciplines, scholars, and scientists studying the structures and processes of knowledge growth and development in individuals and among…

Describes the history of science and its purposes in school curriculum, and the reform movements in science education. Explains confusion of "literacy" and "literate" and the use of mass media as a major source for scientific literacy. Discusses science for all and science for possible future scientists. (Contains 41 references.) (Author/YDS)

Comments on Fensham's (2002) argument that it is "time to change drivers for science literacy". Explains the science, technology, and society (STS) movement which has been a candidate for remodeling the curriculum to achieve universal scientific literacy. Makes a plea for teaching students how to find out about the science underlying current…

Comments on Fensham's suggestion for a change of driver for developing new curricula in school science. Discusses the support needed for a curriculum driven by societal experts, unintentional contributions to the existing problem, and a personal research agenda. (Author/YDS)

Alternatives to traditional science education will remain as limited as their predecessors unless the very structures of schooling are called into question. Alternatives cannot be designed at the drawing board by theoreticians but must be grounded in praxis, thereby providing concrete trajectories along which science education can actually change.…

Comments on Fensham's (2002) suggestion that 'societal experts' are better situated than academic scientists to decide what knowledge is worth having. Suggests that Fensham's proposal lacks the educo-politics needed to counter the customary devious educo-politics expected from those who support the status quo, particularly some academic…

Explains a proposal for society to be the driver for scientific literacy and the need to understand the roots of persistent difficulty in incorporating useful knowledge into the secondary school curriculum. Discusses changes taking place in the economy, the idea of enlisting industry as an ally to legitimate alternative forms of knowledge, and…

Reviews previous reform efforts in the history of mathematics education. Argues for a rethinking of the "one teacher, one classroom" model of education and favors two teachers, one with science/mathematics and the other with humanities/language arts training, for a group of 40-50 students working cooperatively. (Author/MM)

Focuses principally on the high school mathematics curriculum. Observes that it is, for most students, lifeless and ineffective. Proposes that the curriculum be implemented as a sequence of good examples designed to expose not content so much as method. (Author/MM)