The science curriculum is a focus of repeated reform in many countries. However, the enactment of such reforms within schools rarely reflects the intended outcomes of curriculum designers. This review considers what we know about the experiences and reflections of teachers in the enactment of externally driven school science curriculum reform.…

Dynamic visualisations capture aspects of scientific phenomena that are difficult to communicate in static materials and benefit from well-designed scaffolds to succeed in classrooms. We review research to clarify the impacts of dynamic visualisations and to identify instructional scaffolds that mediate their success. We use meta-analysis to…

This paper describes the current state of science education in Arab states and anticipates some of the challenges faced by those states as they reform their science education. After discussing problems of illiteracy, access and quality we provide contextual information about the structure of the educational systems and describe recent efforts to…

For many years, formal school science education has been criticised by students, teachers, parents and employers throughout the world. This article presents an argument that a greater collaboration between the formal and the informal sector could address some of these criticisms. The causes for concern about formal science education are summarised…

This article reviews an important but neglected area of the science curriculum: connections with work and the workplace. The first section offers some historical background, arguing that economic and practical relevance has from the beginning been an important theme within science education. The article then undertakes a broader exploration of the…

This paper offers a commentary upon a number of recent documents from different countries concerned with the reform of school science education. It identifies and considers in turn four issues drawn from the documents: the way in which science is defined; the reference to science as a whole rather than as discrete disciplines; the nature of…

More recent work has complemented earlier studies of the "student voice" in science education by redirecting research attention to focus more directly on what students think about the form, content and purpose of their school science education and exploring the curriculum and pedagogical implications of the findings. Researchers have also explored…

The starting point for this article is the lack of a clear or emerging consensus of what is generally understood by the term "health education", or its role as a component of the school science curriculum which requires a particular research focus. One of the purposes of this article is to explore the concept of health education as one in which a…

In the last 30 years or so, science educators in the Western world have come to recognise the importance of the social and cultural context in which learning occurs (Cobern, 1993, 1994; Hodson, 1993; Leach & Scott, 2003) and have, through such movements as science, technology, society and the environment (Pedretti, 1997; Solomon, 1991; Solomon &…

Explores the issue of curriculum integration, with a particular focus on science as a discipline and its relationship with other subjects. Presents the exploration in the form of a research journey. (Author/MM)

Analyzes the role of science curriculum materials in educational reform concluding that materials can and should play a vital role. Concludes also that the use of new curriculum materials must be accompanied by transformative professional development in a supportive school and community environment. (Author/MM)

Draws on a range of published case studies on settings in which individuals not professionally involved with science address issues that have a scientific aspect. Suggests that at least some areas of knowledge about science should be part of the compulsory school science curriculum. (Contains 61 references.) (ASK)

Studies how the cultural context of curriculum policy relates to what students are taught in the classroom by using data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Explores how what constitutes school science varies from one culture/nation to another, and that these differences pervade all instantiations of curriculum.…

The priorities for science must change to confront the social and environmental problems brought on by the policies in science and technology during the past century. Contends that educators must have a clearer, broader understanding of the nature of science, its history, and its current structure in order to effect necessary changes in science…

Summarizes arguments for and against teaching ethics within science education, and clarifies what might be the several aims of teaching ethics in science. Discusses how ethics instruction might be incorporated into the science curriculum. (Contains 120 references.) (WRM)