Societal Issues and Their Importance for Contemporary Science Education—a Pedagogical Justification and the State-of-the-Art in Israel, Germany, and the Usa

Abstract

One common theme underlying recent reports on science education is that the content of school science and its related pedagogical approaches are not aligned with the interests and needs of both society and the majority of the students. Most students do not find their science classes interesting and motivating. These claims are especially valid regarding those students who, in the future, will probably not embark on a career in science or engineering but will need science and technology personally and functionally as literate citizens. One key problem seems to be that few science programs around the world teach how science is linked to those issues that are relevant to students' life, environment, and role as a citizen. As a result, many students are unable to participate in societal discussions about science and its related technological applications. This paper discusses the need to incorporate socioscientific ideas into the science curricula more thoroughly. This recommendation is supported by a theoretical rationale from various sources leading to a reflection about common practices in science education in three countries: Israel, Germany, and the USA. The state-of-the-art, potentials, and barriers of effective implementation are discussed.

Science Lives: School choices and ‘natural tendencies’

“…A key claim is that science education, particularly in physics and chemistry, remains unpopular among students (Hofstein, Eilks, & Bybee, 2011;Holbrook, 2008;Osborne & Dillon, 2008)-students are simply not interested in science learning (Jenkins, 2005;Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003).…”

A Mixed Method Research Study on the Effectiveness of Socioscientific Issue-Based Instruction

“…Araştırmacılar, fen sınıflarına sosyobilimsel konuları dâhil etme çabalarındaki temel amacın, sorumluluk sahibi vatandaşlar yetiştirmek olduğunu belirtmektedirler (Hofstein, Eilks ve Bybee, 2011;Kolsto, 2001;Pedretti, 1999;Lee vd., 2013). Eğitimde, bilim temelli güncel dünya konularına odaklanma, bilimin toplumdan izole olmayan ve topluma yansıyan rolleri ile akademik disiplinler arası ilişkileri, geleceğe dönük çıkarımları vurgulamanın bir yoludur (Driver, Newton ve Osborne, 2000;Kolsto, 2001;Sadler, 2003Sadler, , 2004a.…”

Development and Validation of the Energy-Issue Attitude Questionnaire: Relations with Energy Knowledge, Affect, and Behavior

“…Diverse attitudes toward energy issues offer an authentic situation for scientific debate in energyeducation classrooms of multiple disciplines. Research indicates that desirable pedagogies for including energy issues in classrooms may focus on promoting student understanding of the role of science in society, awareness of the humanistic aspect of science, thinking of current socio-scientific problems for the relationships between causes, effects, and solutions, and development of scientific research skills and methods (Hofstein, Eilks, & Bybee, 2011). To facilitate energy-issue classrooms, teachers may need to be aware of the different student attitudes regarding knowledge, lifestyles, social systems, approaches, and goals as indicated in this study, and incorporate these considerations into their pedagogies.…”