Evaluates the present in-service education of teachers in Pakistan. Indicates that no participatory or inquiry approach is used in teaching science and teachers have a lack of enthusiasm and creativity. Develops a model of school-based decentralized training for science teachers. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/ASK)

Outlines and analyzes developments and issues in public examinations in the Caribbean region at the secondary school level. Focuses on the contribution of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). Discusses the CXC syllabi and examinations for biology, chemistry, and physics. (Contains 18 references.) (ASK)

Learning styles is a common strand found throughout recent science education reform recommendations. The objective of this study was to examine the influences of teacher beliefs regarding their intent to implement a variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of different learning styles in the science classroom. Ajzen's (1985) Theory of…

Focuses on students' ability to explain their ideas in writing who were able to demonstrate a high level of scientific concept understanding during discussion. Indicates that scaffolding the writing process both at the sentence level and the text level facilitates an improvement in the expression of scientific knowledge. (Contains 14 references.)…

Examines how academic assertiveness in junior high school students was related to conceptual change and the degree to which their assertiveness affected conceptual change in the partners paired with them for a series of activities using a simulation of the human cardiovascular system. Indicates that the assertiveness ratings of the individuals'…

Uses a questionnaire to explore understanding in practicing primary school teachers (n=170), primary trainees (n= 120), and secondary science trainees (n=88) in the areas of biodiversity, carbon cycle, ozone, and global warming. Suggests that both basic explanations and difficulties in understanding of teachers in some areas can usefully inform…

Proposes a methodology called digraphing, which is useful in synthesizing various findings to develop meaningful categories of student conceptions. Describes how categories can be developed and discusses validity and reliability issues related to the digraphing methodology for synthesizing research studies. (Contains 57 references.) (Author/ASK)

Explores a semi-formal intervention in the public learning and understanding of science (PLUS) by involving school children and their family adults in project work in astronomy. Considers outcomes at three levels: general evaluative comments, gains for the family teams involved, and gains in the general public understanding of science. (Contains…

Reports on a research study into the assessment of practical work at the upper high school level in Ireland which involved the use of a visiting examiner. Indicates that the new model provided a reliable and valid assessment of a range of practical abilities. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/ASK)

Discusses difficulties encountered by students in learning physics concepts that arise because they attribute ontology of material substance to these concepts. Reports on a series of four studies that explored the usefulness of an ontological categorization framework in investigating students' alternative conceptions of electric circuits and…

Reports part of larger study concerned with understanding learning as it emerges from enacted curriculum. Presents results of two studies on students' discourse about rotation phenomena with particular focus on the consistency of this talk across different phenomena. Concludes that only a minority of students provided adequate observational and…

Discusses treatment of 'the nature of science' in the National Curriculum of England and Wales. Offers analysis based mainly on texts of the various policy documents that have been produced since 1989. Claims that two conflicting versions of the nature of science can be detected within these documents, one essentially empiricist, the other…

Attempts to answer the question, Can school science be both a scientific and a literary experience or--in particular-an aesthetic, poetic experience? Highlights the power of poetry to stimulate observation, imagination, and emotion in school science. Examples of poems from published sources are used to illustrate ways in which verse can be used…

Addresses the questions, What are the quality criteria of research in chemistry education, and In what ways do exemplary papers meet quality criteria? Selects exemplary papers to illustrate the criteria from 81 research papers published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST) and the International Journal of Science Education (IJSE)…

Investigates pupils' perceptions of their experience with school science. Documents a range of views that pupils held about the science curriculum, aspects they found either interesting and/or valuable, and their views about its future content. Conducts 20 focus groups with 144 16-year-old students. Pupils' perspectives of school science reveal…