This article explores science teachers' perceptions of and consequent decisions about the development and implementation of a nontraditional science cumculum. It is a case-study analysis that examines the perceptions of 14 secondary teachers of a model science/technology/ society (STS) curriculum designed to promote scientific literacy.Although the teachers' decisions varied on whether to accept, alter, or reject the STS curriculum, they shared similar concerns about the development and implementation of this multidisciplinary curriculum. There existed a common set of five factors that the teachers believed to be critical, and that strongly affected their daily teaching decisions.This study offers insights into how science teachers perceive an STS cumculum, and the influence those perceptions have on their teaching decisions. It explores curricular issues from the frame of reference of teachers, the key factor in successfully implementing innovations.
In this study, we explored how science teacher candidates construct ideas about science teaching and learning in the context of partnerships with urban community-based organizations. We used a case study design focusing on a group of 10 preservice teachers' participation in educational programming that focused on environmental racism and connected science to larger social issues in an economically dispossessed Mexican community in Chicago. Using
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