New science curricula in Ontario position science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) objectives at the fore of all science courses. A professional learning community (PLC) consisting of 24 elementary teachers and a facilitation team was established to assist teachers in meeting the challenges of STSE education. Specifically, we examine…

This article addresses some of the curriculum implications of adopting a socioscientific issues (SSIs)-oriented approach to science education, including (a) the need to provide scientific knowledge on a need-to-know basis and adapted to the complexity, multidimensionality, and fluidity of real-world situations and the constraints of particular…

This article takes issue with the widespread assumption that students' socioscientific decisions ought to be evidence based. On the basis of a careful conceptual analysis, it is argued that it is misleading to think in terms of evidence in socioscientific decision making because such decision making is a process of deliberation in which…

In this article we discuss research that was conducted as part of a project on citizen science education. We present the research and some of the results, and then take a position on the pertinence of examining, in science classes, questions on citizen participation in socio-technical debates and the roles and capacities of the social actors…

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 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…

Although science, technology, and society (STS) has been widely accepted as part of science curriculum policy, there is little evidence that it has made much impact on classroom practice, particularly in the academic stream of secondary schools. Suggests that supporters of STS should consider placing STS in occupational contexts in ways that would…

Describes the "A Question of Truth" exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre which examines several questions about the nature of science itself, how ideas are formed, and how cultural and political conditions affect the practice of science. Observation data indicate that science center visitors are interested in considering science and the…

Would-be reformers in science education must focus on what appears to be a root cause of scientific illiteracy, namely a sort of "corporatist manifesto"--an unwritten ideology that transnational corporations use to control production and consumption to maximize profit. Suggests that this credo is manifested in take-for-granted practices such as…