Reviews issues involved in demands for greater public participation in science and technology policy. Analyzes sources of conflict and various "publics" involved, describing diverse fears about science/technology leading to participatory demands. The central and pervasive issue (the source of many conflicts) is the question of who controls crucial…

Drawing on British publications, three general issues related to girls and science education are discussed: demands of state and industry, equality of opportunity, and the nature of science and the scientific enterprise. (JN)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 62 British entries on girls and science/mathematics. Arranged alphabetically by author/institution, annotations are detailed to avoid having to locate each reference itself. Topics include, among others, sex differences, sex bias in textbooks, and achievement. (JN)

Reviews research on demonstration versus small group instruction in four phases (up to 1926, 1926-1946, 1946-1960, and 1960-present), reflecting progressive stages with respect to the development of the investigational techniques used in the studies. (Author/JN)

Describes research on early experiences (reality shock) of young teachers at the beginning of their careers, indicating roots of these experiences. Also describes teacher training courses (focusing on pre-service training for physics teachers and in-service training for new teachers) designed to help teachers cope with reality shock and its…

Lists additional 1979-1980 theses/dissertations, complementing a list printed in Volume 9 (pp. 106-117) of this journal. Subjects include teaching/learning of biology, environmental science, geology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and girls and science. (JN)

This annual publication contains 43 research papers on a variety of issues related to science education. Topics include the following: mature-age students; teacher professional development; spreadsheets and science instruction; the Learning in Science Project and putting it into practice; science discipline knowledge in primary teacher education;…

This book contains selected refereed papers from the 21st Annual Conference of the Australasian Science Education Research Association. The papers are as follows: "A Learning Model for Science Education: Developing Teaching Strategies" (Appleton); "Researching Balance between Cognition and Affect in Science Teaching" (Baird et al.); "Toward a…

Investigates high school students' perceptions and attitudes toward mathematics and science and their perceived reasons for not performing well in mathematics and science. Reports that boys have more favorable attitudes and that gender differences in attitudes increased as students progressed through high school, irrespective of school type and…

Learning environment research should take into account postpositivist ways of thinking to assist students and teachers to construct a more emancipatory learning environment. A critical perspective could lead to research playing a larger role in the transformation of science classroom learning environments. Presented a case study of a middle school…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) endeavored to achieve a balance between student learning of school science in a competitive sense and the variety of science learnings that contemporary curricula for science expect. The impact of science-technology-society (STS) on science curricula is used to explore these tensions in…

Analyzed metaphors used by science teachers in their classroom discourse and their influence on the image of science constructed by students. The use of role-determining objectivist metaphors signifies teachers' pedagogies being governed by an objectivist epistemology. Teachers need to reflect critically on their use of metaphors to develop a…

Investigated students' understanding of the concept of weightlessness and found it to be influenced by the confusion between the concepts of weight and gravitational force. The causal structure of students' knowledge presents a platform for interpreting students' alternative ideas about weight and related physical concepts, which could guide…

Used a constructivist teaching/learning approach to improve first year preservice primary teachers' confidence in, and attitude to, teaching science. Benefits reported were ownership of knowledge, development of pedagogic skills, and the use of group work to develop ideas. Concerns raised included uncertainty when exploring knowledge for…

Described a probe that can assess the learners' understanding of scientific ideas in conditions that do not demand closure on a single interpretation, and where learners can demonstrate certainty or otherwise in several possible alternatives. Can be used in monitoring conceptual change when intuitive understanding of scientific phenomena is to be…