The impact of cultural background on science learning is explored in this compilation of papers and reports from an inter-American Seminar on science education. For the purposes of enriching science program planning, teacher education, research, and practice in the schools, varying ideas are offered on the effects of cultural background on science learning. Papers and other materials are presented under the chapter headings of: (1) introduction (specifying the purposes and organization of the seminar); (2) culture, cognition, and science learning (addressing such aspects as bilingual children's cognition, ethno-science, and curricular pluralism); (3) theory, goals, and strategies of science teaching (including an exploration of instructional strategies, a meta-analysis of the effects of teaching problem solving, and ideas on teaching science); (4) program development (explaining projects in primary school science, ecology, ocean fisheries, and science education in the Caribbean); (5) educating teachers for culturally diverse students (focusing on science teacher training projects); (6) working group projects (providing summaries of each of the four working group's topic areas); and (7) summary and projections (citing the seminar's recommendations for future actions). Four appendices contain a list of seminar planners and participants, a schedule of activities, a list of educators making up the inter-American science education network, and data sources and science education journals. (ML)