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What 'Ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community

What 'Ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community
What 'Ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community
Recent arguments in science education have proposed that school science should pay more attention to teaching the nature of science and its social practices. However, unlike the content of science, for which there is well-established consensus, there would appear to be much less unanimity within the academic community about which ideas-about-science are essential elements that should be included in the contemporary school science curriculum. Hence, this study sought to determine empirically the extent of any consensus using a three stage Delphi questionnaire with 23 participants drawn from the communities of leading and acknowledged international experts of science educators; scientists; historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science; experts engaged in work to improve the public understanding of science; and expert science teachers. The outcome of the research was a set of nine themes encapsulating key ideas about the nature of science for which there was consensus and which were considered to be an essential component of school science curriculum. Together with extensive comments provided by the participants, these data give some measure of the existing level of agreement in the community engaged in science education and science communication about the salient features of a vulgarized account of the nature of science. Although some of the themes are already a feature of existing school science curricula, many others are not. The findings of this research, therefore, challenge (a) whether the picture of science represented in the school science curriculum is sufficiently comprehensive, and (b) whether there balance in the curriculum between teaching about the content of science and the nature of science is appropriate.
0022-4308
692-720
Osborne, Jonathan
15b1de29-6239-42c4-b0dc-426450721b9a
Collins, Sue
ebea7bb4-ed87-426c-8d01-1c3983cea7b5
Ratcliffe, Mary
23eb1e68-67a1-4b73-ad0e-925dcb12e5e8
Millar, Robin
b8f620e5-a2d4-4f3c-8451-e85f775ef257
Duschl, Rick
cb2eac97-d5dc-40f0-9d1f-43d25cdc7839
Osborne, Jonathan
15b1de29-6239-42c4-b0dc-426450721b9a
Collins, Sue
ebea7bb4-ed87-426c-8d01-1c3983cea7b5
Ratcliffe, Mary
23eb1e68-67a1-4b73-ad0e-925dcb12e5e8
Millar, Robin
b8f620e5-a2d4-4f3c-8451-e85f775ef257
Duschl, Rick
cb2eac97-d5dc-40f0-9d1f-43d25cdc7839

Osborne, Jonathan, Collins, Sue, Ratcliffe, Mary, Millar, Robin and Duschl, Rick (2003) What 'Ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40 (7), 692-720. (doi:10.1002/tea.10105).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Recent arguments in science education have proposed that school science should pay more attention to teaching the nature of science and its social practices. However, unlike the content of science, for which there is well-established consensus, there would appear to be much less unanimity within the academic community about which ideas-about-science are essential elements that should be included in the contemporary school science curriculum. Hence, this study sought to determine empirically the extent of any consensus using a three stage Delphi questionnaire with 23 participants drawn from the communities of leading and acknowledged international experts of science educators; scientists; historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science; experts engaged in work to improve the public understanding of science; and expert science teachers. The outcome of the research was a set of nine themes encapsulating key ideas about the nature of science for which there was consensus and which were considered to be an essential component of school science curriculum. Together with extensive comments provided by the participants, these data give some measure of the existing level of agreement in the community engaged in science education and science communication about the salient features of a vulgarized account of the nature of science. Although some of the themes are already a feature of existing school science curricula, many others are not. The findings of this research, therefore, challenge (a) whether the picture of science represented in the school science curriculum is sufficiently comprehensive, and (b) whether there balance in the curriculum between teaching about the content of science and the nature of science is appropriate.

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More information

Published date: 2003
Additional Information: Received award for the best paper - most significant contribution - to the journal for the year

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 12553
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/12553
ISSN: 0022-4308
PURE UUID: 5eb25655-c830-4590-8b30-96686ef5d676

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Date deposited: 13 Dec 2004
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:06

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Contributors

Author: Jonathan Osborne
Author: Sue Collins
Author: Mary Ratcliffe
Author: Robin Millar
Author: Rick Duschl

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