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)

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…

Provides a review of health issues that could be incorporated into secondary science curricula. Includes sections on the nature of the concepts of health and health education, descriptive health education research, theoretical perspectives on health education, and models and curricula for health education. (ML)

Addresses the need for a public understanding of science. Presents both an historical perspective and a current view of the public's understanding of science. Reviews international examples of adult science programs and discusses the need for adult scientific literacy. (ML)

Provides a review of the range of innovative science activities in India. Points out some of the parallels with science and science education issues in India and in other countries. Offers perspectives on the state of nonformal science for the public and reforms of science in the schools of India. (ML)

Reviews studies related to problem solving in science education. Discusses findings in the areas of investigative methods, improvement of problem-solving abilities, task variables (puzzles, problems), and subject variables (cognitive structures, developmental factors, disposition). (ML)

Reviews the purposes, underlying assumptions, and curriculum development model for the United Kingdom's "Children's Learning in Science Project." Explains the general features and phases of the constructivist approach to learning that the program advocates. Identifies theoretical developments on children's ideas, the constructivist view…