Proposes a way of creating a modern scientific vocabulary in various African languages by giving scientific meaning to generally accessible words that are explanatory concepts rather than by borrowing from European languages by phonetic transcription. Describes a sample Nguni nomenclature for physics. (Author/WRM)

In-service science teachers (n=63) in Zimbabwe were assessed as to their level of commitment to traditional culture and its relation to science instructional ideology. Teachers' scores of commitment to indigenous culture were positively and significantly correlated to traditional noninquiry ideology-preference scores but not to inquiry…

Examines the role of practical activities in secondary science from an international perspective and contrasts this to a developing country's perspective. Discusses research studies on training teachers to include physics practical work in Indonesia and the benefits and constraints of implementing practical work in physics classrooms. Contains 37…

Presents the story of one nongovernmental organization (NGO) and the role it played in reconceptualizing science education in South Africa. Describes the success of the Science Education Project (SEP) in confronting authoritarian practices of government organizations and those within its own ranks. Science education can become the Trojan horse of…

Literature reviews and a study conducted in Malawi suggest that poor performance in science among students in developing African countries is caused by the absence of vocational incentives rather than by evidence of a conflict between traditional beliefs and science. Explains that science-performance improvement for students in developing…

Argues that concern for the needs of science department faculty in small colleges and universities is lacking in the science education research literature. Claims that such faculty's duties often include educating science majors and science education majors, and the unique problems arising from this dual role should be more thoroughly studied.…

Presents research on the scientific question-posing capabilities of 10th-grade students (n=127) who were studying air quality in a cooperative way using the jigsaw method. Finds that the difference between students at high and low academic levels to the extent of increase in both number and complexity of posed questions was significant. Contains…

Reports on a study of the contributions fieldwork made to Spanish secondary students' (n=67) understandings of concepts and principles of ecology. Concludes that fieldwork helps clarify ecological concepts and intervenes directly in the development of more favorable attitudes toward the defense of the ecosystem. Contains 47 references. (Author/WRM)

Reports on a study of elementary and middle school students' (n=254) intentions to perform science learning activities. Finds that students value different sources of information and support relative to their intention to engage in science learning activities. Contains 40 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes the evaluation of the characteristics and practicality of concept mapping as a technique for classroom assessment. Findings suggest that the time required to provide training in concept mapping, produce concepts, and score-concept maps is compatible with the adoption of concept mapping as a classroom-assessment technique. Contains 15…

Reports on the views and attitudes of secondary science teachers (n=27) toward lesson planning. Describes teacher decisions, the things they take into account, what they ascribe the most importance to, time spent, the source of their knowledge, and how they evaluate the results. Contains 46 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a grade 7 classroom. Discusses the ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted their…

Describes the personal thoughts, or everyday thinking, of high school science students about a question relevant to science: What is Nature? Finds that a rich breadth of perspectives typically characterized any one student's discussion of Nature, though the level of science integration within everyday thinking remained low. Contains 116…

Investigates the dimensions underlying performance on the diagrams, tables, and maps subset of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test. Analyzes data from two test versions by using a structural-equation modeling technique on 14,463 and 19,636 examinees respectively. Concludes that gender difference in performance is due, to a great extent, to the…

Presents an action-oriented research account of higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS)-oriented teaching of organic chemistry to freshman and sophomore science majors in small and large classes at a relatively small and large university respectively. Finds that inquiry-oriented class discussions, students' active involvement in the learning process,…