As a result of human beings' activities to dominate nature and transform it for their own benefit as they continue to advance in science and technology, environmental problems such as climate change have become the biggest threat faced by the biosphere in the current century. One of the biggest problems of humanity today is the scarcity of water…

This paper gives the rationale and a draft outline for a framework for education to teach epistemic insight into schools in England. The motivation to research and propose a strategy to teach and assess epistemic insight followed research that investigated how students and teachers in primary and secondary schools respond to "big…

After taking seriously the idea that nature should have human rights argued by Cormac Cullinan in Orion Magazine (January/February 2008), we examined the lessons that could be learned from the tree that owns itself in Athens, Georgia. The point is to engage others in environmental and science education in a critical conversation about how school…

Analyzes five biology textbooks in 11 categories identified as current controversial issues and biosocial problems. Quantitative ratings for each category, based on total number of textbook pages, are presented for Darwinian evolution, disease states, drugs, environment, human genetics, human reproduction, man in nature, origin of life, population…

Discusses purposes and policies of science education, including present growth trends and the resulting problems of human ecological scarcity, global nature of these problems, and the need for a global response to alter current trends. Emphasizes the role of science/technology in the amelioration of global problems. (Author/JN)

Discusses the interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary nature of the BSCS Human Sciences Program and problems associated with the development, dissemination, and use of such curricula. Poses a series of questions related to these problems and discusses influences of single-issues pressure groups on science teaching. (JN)

Modern biotechnology has a large and rapidly increasing impact on society. New advances in genetics, stem cells and other areas hold great potential for human health but also presenting socioscientific issues that commonly divide public opinion. While knowledge is necessary to develop informed opinions about biotechnology, they may also be…

This article considers a secondary science department that has, since 2000, developed distributed leadership as a form of human capacity building. Using a longitudinal ethnographic case study allowed us to consider how distributed leadership can be nurtured and developed in a department. Our analysis centres on two key issues: the nature and…

This paper scrutinizes the contribution of Romulo de Carvalho to the development of the Portuguese science curriculum, arguing that it was critically informed by his lifetime inclination to the humanities. It focuses on a particular historical event: the 1948 chemistry programme for the secondary school "Liceus". The paper briefly…

In this article, Michael E. Wysession comments on the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS), which are based on the recommendations of the National Research Council and represent a revolutionary step toward establishing modern, national K-12 science education standards. The NGSS involves significant changes from traditional…

Five high school biology textbooks were examined to determine the inclusion of four aspects of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) science and its interactions with technology and society. The textbooks analyzed were "BSCS Biology--A Human…

Discusses various aspects of the human sciences program, including its modular format, activity-centered orientation, personalized approach, interdisciplinary nature, and flexibility in packaging. Descriptions are made for four modules within the program. (CS)

This book is an outlined for the short study (1- to 2-weeks) of chronobiology, a field of science that explores the relationships between time and biological functions. It develops step-by-step the reasoning that leads to the current scientific understanding of biological rhythms. The unit can be inserted into a standard middle or high school…

"Of Animals, Nature and People" is one of the "Preparing for Tomorrow's World" (PTW) program modules. PTW is an interdisciplinary, future-oriented program incorporating information from the sciences and social sciences and addressing societal concerns which interface science/technology/society. The program promotes responsible…

Describes various activities to understand the nature of the earth as a spaceship and its impact on human life. A figure depicting a holocoenotic environmental complex is given which can be used to illustrate various interacting forces on earth. (PS)