Quantitative and qualitative studies of public understanding of science conducted in many countries provide important insights into the extent to which lay citizens understand important scientific concepts, and the ways in which they seek and use scientific knowledge. Identifies some dimensions of "citizen science" and examines their implications…

Describes and analyzes five years of an attempt to introduce the public understanding of science as a subject in its own right to be taught in The Netherlands. Concludes that in spite of its status as a separate subject, the current vision of the course does not yet have a clear identity that distinguishes it from traditional school science…

Discusses aspects of more than a decade of research and implementation of cross-curriculum themes as part of the curriculum for secondary school students in Spain. Comments on theoretical and practical issues encountered in developing similar projects. Contains 45 references. (Author/WRM)

Reports on a study of American and Russian students' emerging global perspectives. Students (n=300) from both countries participated in three year-long programs of collaborative environmental research and cross-cultural exchange. Concludes that environmental-science education must stress the cognitive and affective outcomes necessary for the…

Explores the arguments used by 14-year-old students in making decisions about the design of a road in their area. Describes the general perspective of such an approach and the process of argumentation, then analyzes the nature of the students' arguments which are discussed on the basis of a specifically-constructed network. Contains 20 references.…

Traces how the idea of measuring the connection between school science and public awareness of science has emerged. Describes the Program for International Student Achievement (PISA) project's indicators of educational progress in science. Contains 28 references. (Author/WRM)

Discusses the use of school science in students' everyday lives. Argues that the goal of connecting school science to students' everyday lives moves the discussion of public understanding of science to public understanding of technology. Examines the implications and limitations of this movement. Contains 40 references. (Author/WRM)

Argues that citizens need to recognize that science is a human social activity like any other. Calls for socially responsible science and a public mindful of its strengths and weaknesses. Explores two case studies of public construction of knowledge about controversial health-related issues to illustrate the problematic nature of public…

Suggests improvements for implementation of the "Views on Science-Technology-Society" instrument. Analyzes the scaling properties of some scoring procedures within the unique response model and discusses ways to produce "best fidelity" measurements. Presents a multiple-response model that could take advantage of all the information contained in…

Proposes a number of culture-sensitive practices based on Guba and Lincoln's (1989) criteria for trustworthiness and authenticity when working in Melanesian cultural contexts. Addresses issues of initial contact, ownership of knowledge, prolonged engagement, persistent observation, member checks, language and interview process. Contains 15…

Reports on the extent to which the Principle of Relativity was employed by students when dealing with various phenomena. Concludes that the Principle of Relativity is not used as an heuristic tool in students' answers, and that the situations presented were not regarded as "problematic" by the students, who primarily used interpretive structures…

Argues for the need for theoretical work on mental models in the field of science education. Considers relationships between both models and theories, and mental models and conceptions in order to improve the notions of "model" and "mental model" used in the literature. Contains 20 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes the construction of assessments on inclines and friction from blueprints--or shells--which address the tasks of planning, hands-on, analysis, and application. Examines the reliability and validity of the assessments as well as the comparability of the assessments generated with the shell. Contains 48 references. (Author/WRM)

Discusses research on the effects of having high school students (n=91) read four popular media reports of science. Finds a lack of systemic relationship between students' degree of certainty in their beliefs and the support that the reports offer for those beliefs due to the fact that students seemed unable to fully integrate their background…

Identifies four views of the nature of the science/technology relationship: Idealist, Demarcationist, Materialist, and Interactionist. Analyzes high school physics textbooks in light of these relationship types and finds that the texts are dominated by an idealist storyline that presents a limited view of the history and philosophy of…