Over the last two decades, science educators and science education researchers have grown increasingly interested in utilising insights from the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) to inform their work and research. To date, researchers in science education have focused on two applications: results of sociological studies of science have been…

Reviews studies focusing on practical assessment in science. Areas considered include what students are really doing in laboratories, how practical skills should be assessed, methods used to assess practical science (such as internal/external examinations and continuous assessment), methodological issues, and reasons for the failure of some…

This review is organized under these headings: aims of science education; the image of science; why a philosophy of science; the nature of scientific knowledge and the role of theory; scientific method; practice of science by the community of scientists; and the role of practical work. (JN)

Suggesting that learning be considered as a generative process, attempts to: (1) place generative learning ideas in the context of other viewpoints of learning; (2) explicate key postulates of the generative learning model; and (3) examine implications of these theoretical ideas for teaching, learning, curriculum development, and research. (JN)

Lists theses and dissertations for degrees in British universities completed during 1982-83 and 1983-84, including some not previously listed. They are arranged under 18 headings reflecting studies of teaching/learning in biology, chemistry, physics, technology, elementary and secondary school mathematics, schools and industry, computers,…

Short-term studies often do not capture the full story of the effect that a researcher is trying to describe. If one wishes to elucidate long-term educational processes and outcomes, the only direct way of doing so is to stretch the duration of research projects and to study the same subjects over time. The limited availability of valid…

Studies in Science Education is an international review of research for all who are interested in the educational dimensions of science. This issue contains these articles: "Teaching about Science, Technology and Society at the Secondary School Level in the United States. An Educational Dilemma for the 1980s" (Mary C. McConnell); Science Education…