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The Committed Objectivity of Science and the Importance of Scientific Knowledge in Ethical and Political Education
Abstract
Despite advances in discussions about the nature of science, there is still a paucity of discussion on the ontological dimension of science in science education research that makes it difficult to defend its content and teaching. In this article, the reasons for trusting science and science education are analyzed through three arguments. The first is that both the belligerent obscurantism and fake news of the ultra-right and the postmodern relativism of sections of the leftwing are connected to objective movements from the capitalist socioeconomic reality. The reestablishment of trust in science and its teaching requires an effort to understand the contemporary social contradictions, problems, and challenges. The second argument is that scientific knowledge does not need to abdicate objectivity in order to ground ethical and political positions. The third argument is that the socialization of scientific knowledge through school education is a necessary, albeit insufficient, condition for the ethical–political education of younger generations. The article concludes by stating that it is necessary to overcome the choice between an education that is supposedly neutral in political and ideological terms and an education that rejects the socialization of scientific knowledge in the name of respecting the multiplicity of culturally rooted voices from within the different oppressed groups present in today’s society.
... O ensino de ciências frequentemente se atém apenas aos produtos da ciência ao invés de também explorar suas dimensões filosóficas, reflexo da escassez dessas discussões nas pesquisas em Educação em Ciências (EC) e da indiferença de professores à filosofia, o que diz muito sobre sua formação (Duarte et al., 2021;Matthews, 2014;Schulz, 2014). A ontologia e a epistemologia são os campos da filosofia que têm desempenhado historicamente um papel importante na compreensão que o ser humano tem da natureza da realidade e do conhecimento científico, respectivamente, abrangendo o âmbito da educação (Friedrichsen et al., 2011;Schulz, 2014). ...
... Para Bunge (2000, p. 461, tradução nossa), "Sem filosofia, a ciência perde em profundidade". Definir razões para se confiar na ciência e no ensino de ciências só é possível a partir de uma abordagem aprofundada, isto é, uma abordagem ontológica e epistemológica (Duarte et al., 2021). ...
... De acordo com o filósofo marxista György Lukács (2018), a ciência neopositivista desterrou nominalmente a ontologia para afastar qualquer especulação metafísica/religiosa; dessa ciência passou a interessar a sua utilidade prática e imediata e não o que ela diz sobre o que é o mundo. Assim, a ciência moderna evita questões sobre concepção de mundo e posições éticas e políticas como se isso fosse possível e lhe garantisse objetividade, priorizando a epistemologia e deixando essas lacunas livres para a Igreja (Duarte et al., 2021;Lukács, 2018). Nas concepções pós-positivistas e pós-modernas, a dimensão ontológica é resgatada, porém, relativizada, pois "[...] refutam a possibilidade de dizer algo sobre o mundo e decretam o conhecimento como constructo e a verdade como consenso. ...
RESUMO: O ensino de ciências não costuma tratar da dimensão filosófica da ciência, que envolve aspectos ontológicos e epistemológicos relacionados a uma concepção de mundo. Apresento uma revisão bibliográfica que é parte de uma pesquisa de mestrado e que tem por objetivo identificar os focos temáticos mobilizados por autores nacionais e estrangeiros da Educação em Ciências sobre aspectos ontológicos e epistemológicos da ciência. Nos 144 artigos selecionados, é recorrente a discussão sobre a natureza da realidade e a possibilidade de conhecê-la, além de uma valorização da abordagem epistemológica. Desse corpus, 11 trabalhos foram analisados com base no materialismo histórico e dialético, apresentando novos olhares da discussão filosófica sobre a realidade para a Educação em Ciências.
... We guess that this type of research and demonstrations should be scientific ones, but that is just a guess. In the case we guessed correctly there are still different definitions of science, for example, some claim that scientific knowledge should be objective and unbiased (Britannica, 2024), and others claim that scientific knowledge is influenced by societal and cultural factors (Duarte et al., 2022); some claim that scientific knowledge is ethically neutral and some others claim that scientific knowledge should incorporate ethical considerations (Duarte et al., 2022), etc. ...
... We guess that this type of research and demonstrations should be scientific ones, but that is just a guess. In the case we guessed correctly there are still different definitions of science, for example, some claim that scientific knowledge should be objective and unbiased (Britannica, 2024), and others claim that scientific knowledge is influenced by societal and cultural factors (Duarte et al., 2022); some claim that scientific knowledge is ethically neutral and some others claim that scientific knowledge should incorporate ethical considerations (Duarte et al., 2022), etc. ...
Educational Technologies (EdTech) and Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) are established fields of academic research with the potential to transform educational practices and outcomes. Yet, they are currently facing several problems that undermine their efficacy and relevance. In this discussion paper, we examine recurrent complaints of researchers in the field allowing us to identify four main root causes responsible for hindering the impact of the field (starting with the less serious to most serious): (4) Lack of formal methods to evaluate, give credit, share and mature prototypes, (3) The prioritization of publication and citation metrics over the acquisition of scientific knowledge that leads to the enhancement of education and learning, (2) Researchers and their lack of practical experience in the field, and (1) The absence of robust epistemological paradigms and frameworks. In this paper, we lay down the problems caused by these root causes, discuss solutions for these causes, and propose implementable steps towards these solutions.
... Avançamos nesse aspecto, apesar de ainda haver uma majoritária apreensão do que significaria entender a ciência como construção social no ensino de ciências que se mantém no polo fenomênico, levando em conta que historicamente a Educação em Ciências (EC) se ateve a estabelecer relações pontuais entre os conhecimentos científicos e as vivências humanas, sem assumir o compromisso claro de revelar questões estruturantes da sociedade. Precisamos e ainda podemos avançar, o que envolve o reconhecimento de que essa construção social se ancora na realidade material, captada subjetivamente pelos sujeitos e que atende a interesses dessa sociedade: na atualidade, os interesses do capitalismo (Duarte;Teixeira, 2022). Não há ciência que se conte por ela mesma, caso contrário ao definirmos formas e conteúdos ensinaremos apenas nomes e datas, técnicas estanques de atividade social humana historicamente determinada. ...
... No entanto, a alienação não é provocada pela ciência em si, mas pela classe proprietária dos meios de produção que detém os conhecimentos científicos. Portanto, é fundamental que todos os estudantes reconheçam as contradições sociais existentes e se apropriem dos conhecimentos científicos necessários para que possam se engajar ética e politicamente na sociedade (Duarte;Teixeira, 2022). ...
Resumo A obrigatoriedade do ensino de história e cultura africana, afro-brasileira e indígena se impõe há mais de vinte anos. Ainda que publicações da área de Educação em Química avancem com propostas didáticas, a forma como inserem as relações étnico-raciais prescinde de fundamentação pedagógica clara. Esta pesquisa, de natureza teórico-conceitual, está alicerçada na Pedagogia Histórico-Crítica e no Materialismo Histórico-Dialético e tem como objetivo apontar fundamentos para a inserção da Educação das Relações Étnico-Raciais na Educação em Química de forma concreta, considerando uma efetiva relação entre a questão étnico-racial e os conceitos científicos. Partimos de um acervo histórico-crítico em diálogo com as relações étnico-raciais, mobilizando categorias como mediação, singular-particular-universal, humanização, alienação e objetivações genéricas. Referenciados na prática social, defendemos um ensino não reduzido ao conceito químico, tampouco à contextualização sem concretude, visto que conteúdos químicos são sínteses de múltiplas determinações e contradições entre sistema econômico e comunidades tradicionais em meio aos processos históricos de humanização e alienação da ciência.
... She advocates for the importance of fostering an ecology of knowledges, where dialogues and exchanges between different knowledge systems take centre stage. When the epistemology of the natural sciences has been examined from a perspective of cultural activity, a narrative of class struggle has been used to justify cultural relativism and claim that there is no objective knowledge (Duarte et al., 2022). In this vein, science and pseudoscience should be treated equally. ...
... This work contends that physics teachers who adhere to a realist perspective of physics may find themselves in conflict with the ecology-of-knowledges approach to teaching and learning physics, as it will very likely be construed as a euphemism for relativism. In addition, another criticism of relativism is that it poses a serious problem for science: it can be used by fascists, charlatans, and pseudoscientists to spread disinformation (Duarte et al., 2022;Galamba & Matthews, 2021). ...
This article critically examines the intersection between philosophical perspectives and pedagogical practices in promoting epistemic justice within physics education. It addresses the historical context of science education movements and their impact on social equity, highlighting the persistent underrepresentation of marginalized groups in the sciences. By exploring the concepts of realism and relativism in the philosophy of science, this work discusses the challenges of integrating diverse epistemologies into physics education. It advocates for a multifaceted approach, emphasizing critical pedagogy and the inclusion of multicultural and multi-ethnic perspectives to foster a more equitable and inclusive physics curriculum. It argues that transforming physics education through ethnic-racial solidarity can enrich the discipline without falling into the relativist discourse. This document draws on the critical literature to exemplify how physics education and other physics communities can promote ethnic-racial solidarity. Through this approach, educators can create inclusive learning environments that empower students to engage critically with scientific knowledge and contribute to a more just and diverse future in physics education and practice.
... Se a falácia da neutralidade científica é algo majoritariamente consensuado pela comunidade científica, a objetividade ainda não. Duarte, Massi e Teixeira esclarecem que "o conhecimento científico não precisa abdicar da objetividade para fundamentar posicionamentos éticos e políticos diante dos problemas que afligem a humanidade hoje" [Duarte, Massi & Teixeira, 2022, p. 1631. A questão central é que a objetividade do conhecimento científico não implica neutralidade política e ideológica. ...
Diversas mensagens falsas circularam durante a pandemia de covid-19, muitas delas foram compostas por elementos científicos e tecnológicos. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar como a incorporação de aspectos científicos e tecnológicos foram usados em mensagens falsas sobre a pandemia. A partir do banco de dados disponibilizado pela Latam Chequea Coronavírus, selecionamos 152 mensagens falsas que apresentaram o uso inadequado do conhecimento científico. Os resultados apontaram que as mensagens falsas se apropriaram da ciência e da tecnologia, visando usurpar seu valor social em busca de credibilidade. Para isso, as mensagens falsas usaram recursos verbo-visuais, autoridades e misturam informações verdadeiras e falsas.
... Explicit discussion of the social-institutional dimensions of the FRA (e.g., social organizations and interactions, and political power structures) is necessary to dismantle the veil of neutrality because its implicit prevalence can have negative impact on participation and representation in science in the short term and influence science research and public trust in science in the long term. We agree with Duarte and Colleagues that "it is necessary to overcome the choice between an education that is supposedly neutral in political and ideological terms and an education that rejects the socialization of scientific knowledge in the name of respecting the multiplicity of culturally rooted voices from within the different oppressed groups present in today's society" (Duarte, Massi, & Teixeira, 2021, p. 1629. In the rest of this section, we discuss more specifically how attentions to the categories of political power structures, social values, social organizations and interactions, social certification and dissemination, and financial (economic) systems are necessary tools for countering the myth of neutrality. ...
Nine years after reconceptualizing the nature of science for science education using the family resemblance approach (FRA) (Erduran & Dagher, 2014a), the time is ripe for taking stock of what this approach has accomplished, and what future research it can facilitate. This reflective paper aims to accomplish three goals. The first addresses several questions related to the FRA for the purpose of ensuring that the applications of FRA in science education are based on robust understanding of the framework. The second discusses the significance of the FRA by highlighting its capacity to support science educators with the exploration of a wide range of contemporary issues that are relevant to how teachers and learners perceive and experience science. The third goal of the paper offers recommendations for future directions in FRA research in the areas of science identity development and multicultural education as well as curriculum, instruction, and assessment in science education.
O presente trabalho teve como objetivo interpretar o papel da materialidade do átomo na produção do conhecimento químico, por meio da análise de diferentes determinações históricas, ocorridas entre os séculos XIX e XX, que colaboraram para a compreensão da estrutura atômica. A materialidade, presente em discussões filosóficas sobre o realismo, se relaciona ao debate da própria existência do átomo, uma vez que essa é uma questão tanto para os cientistas da época quanto para a atual da filosofia química. O período histórico analisado é fruto de trabalhos anteriores sobre a tabela periódica, os modelos atômicos e a radioatividade, pois reconhecemos que eles representam uma síntese parcial das múltiplas determinações que corroboraram para o entendimento da materialidade do átomo que temos até o momento. Assim, a análise e complementação desses três episódios históricos apontou para a existência do átomo e colaborou para uma compreensão materialista da realidade, explicitando filosoficamente a importância desses conhecimentos para a química. Com isso, foi possível traçar também conexões com o ensino de química a partir da Pedagogia Histórico-Crítica, pois a história e filosofia dos conteúdos permitem justificá-los no currículo, além de contribuir para a formação de uma concepção de mundo do aluno que seja materialista, histórica e dialética.
Objectives: In this study, we examined the impact of digital globalization on health behavior among students in Chinese schools, particularly in relation to the fight against COVID-19. Despite China's well-established system and positive health behavior towards the pandemic, students' health behavior is lacking. The study focuses on the role of ideological and political education in addressing this issue. Methods: Data were collected from Chinese schools with the help of a survey questionnaire by using area cluster sampling. Data analysis was carried out by employing Smart PLS. Results: We found that digital globalization has a positive effect on health behavior. Digital globalization also has a positive effect on global knowledge about COVID-19 and ideological and political education leading to health behavior. Conclusion: We identified that the influential role of digital globalization can change health behavior. Digital globalization led to global knowledge about the COVID-19 and further caused an influence health behavior among schools that led to improved health behavior of students. The outcomes of the study have valuable importance for the management of schools to decrease the effect of COVID-19 by developing positive health behavior.
O presente artigo, de natureza teórico-conceitual, busca interpretar elementos da concepção de ciência nos principais filósofos da ciência adotados por nossa área de pesquisa em disciplinas, eventos e debates sobre história e filosofia da ciência. São eles: Comte, Popper, Lakatos, Kuhn, Bachelard e Latour. Nossa análise tem esteio em categorias do materialismo histórico-dialético. Elegemos um acervo composto pelas principais obras dos filósofos, artigos de pesquisadores da área de Educação em Ciências que os apresentam e sintetizam suas ideias e trabalhos críticos de marxistas sobre os filósofos. Expomos nossas análises em duas partes: a primeira, de natureza ontológica, traz discussões sobre concepções de realidade; a segunda, de natureza epistemológica, aborda questões sobre o modo como se conhece a realidade. Quanto ao aspecto ontológico, as ideias são marcadas por diferentes tipos de idealismo, que são resultado da primazia da lógica formal. Nas discussões epistemológicas, identificamos a supervalo-rização do sujeito no reflexo científico, em que o universal é entendido como produto da consciência cognoscente e não uma categoria objetiva do real. Pautados no materialismo histórico-dialético, defendemos que a realidade existe apesar de nossa consciência, que é possível conhecê-la, que a ciência configura-se como uma conquista do gênero humano e que isso corrobora sua presença na educação escolar.
Freedom of learning for students can be carried out in the practice of Christian education, because it is important for the need to face social realities in everyday life. However, most Christian educational practices prioritize spiritual teachings that talk about life outside the real world. Christian education should play its role in generating spiritual understanding that is relevant to social (reality) transformation. Based on this, the importance of critical awareness aims as the actualization of Christian values carried out in the reality of life. Paulo Freire's thinking in the concept of liberating education is used as a lens for teaching critical thinking, and dialogue as a democratic learning model for teachers and students to be able to think freely, have opinions, and have critical awareness. The research method used is qualitative research through literature review by reviewing books, journals by analyzing data by summarizing, and synthesizing information related to the topic. The results of this study found that: the development of the potential of students related to social transformation, the elaboration of Christian education and liberating education to build critical awareness of teachers and students, dialogue has the potential as a democratic model in learning. In conclusion, critical thinking is very suitable in Christian learning because this activity links social, emotional, and moral experiences for social transformation. Kebebasan belajar bagi naradidik dapat dilakukan dalam praktek pendidikan Kristiani, karena hal itu penting untuk kebutuhan menghadapi realitas sosial dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Di sisi lain, praktik pendidikan Kristiani lebih mengutamakan pengajaran spiritual yang berbicara tentang kehidupan di luar dunia nyata. Seharusnya pendidikan Kristiani memainkan perannya dalam memunculkan pemahaman spiritual yang relevan dengan transformasi (realitas) sosial. Berdasarkan hal itu, pentingnya kesadaran kritis bertujuan sebagai aktualisasi dari nilai-nilai Kristiani dilakukan dalam realitas kehidupan. Pemikiran Paulo Freire dalam konsep pendidikan yang membebaskan dijadikan sebagai lensa untuk melakukan pengajaran berpikir kritis, dan dialog sebagai model pembelajaran demokratis untuk guru dan murid dapat bebas berpikir, berpendapat, dan memiliki kesadaran kritis. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif melalui literatur review dengan mengkaji buku, jurnal dengan melakukan analisis data dengan meringkas, dan mensintetis informasi terkait topik. Hasil penelitian ini menemukan bahwa: pengembangan potensi naradidik berkaitan dengan transformasi sosial, elaborasi pendidikan Kristiani dan pendidikan yang membebaskan membangun kesadaran kritis guru dan naradidik, dialog berpotensi sebagai model demokratis dalam pembelajaran. Kesimpulannya, pemikiran kritis sangat cocok dalam pembelajaran Kristiani karena aktivitas ini mengaitkan pengalaman sosial, emosional, dan moral untuk transformasi sosial.
Este artigo discute as políticas públicas de educação no Brasil e o papel da psicologia escolar e educacional tomando como fundamento a Psicologia Histórico-cultural no contexto da Pandemia de Covid-19. Apresenta brevemente os grandes desafios da educação básica centrados nas questões históricas de exclusão da e na escola e os processos de agravamento da desigualdade social com consequências para a escolarização. Sugere propostas para o enfrentamento em situações de crise por meio de ações que sejam interdisciplinares, multiprofissionais e intersetoriais, tais como: a) realizar um diagnóstico geral da situação escolar, baseando-se nos dados possíveis sobre a região, sobre as famílias e os estudantes, podendo realizar atividades que possibilitem conhecer mais de perto as dificuldades e possibilidades de acesso ao conhecimento e às necessidades sociais e econômicas apresentadas; b) repensar os espaços de convivência, as formas de estabelecer os currículos, de incentivar a participação de todos os segmentos da escola; c) viabilizar projetos coletivos, ações e estratégias que tenham as pessoas como protagonistas de suas histórias, trajetórias e dores que foram marcas dessa pandemia. Reafirma, por fim, o papel que vem desempenhando a Teoria Histórico-Cultural no processo de discussão de temáticas centrais para a educação básica, considerando o contexto social, político, econômico e cultural bem como os processos de subjetivação que constituem a humanização.
Indigenous knowledge provides specific views of the world held by various indigenous peoples. It offers different views on nature and science that generally differ from traditional Western science. Futhermore, it introduces different perspectives on nature and the human in nature. Coming basically from a Western perspective on nature and science, the paper analyzes the literature in science education focusing on research and practices of integrating indigenous knowledge with science education. The paper suggests Didaktik models and frameworks for how to elaborate on and design science education for sustainability that takes indigenous knowledge and related non-Western and alternative Western ideas into consideration. To do so, indigenous knowledge is contextualized with regards to related terms (e.g., ethnoscience), and with Eastern perspectives (e.g., Buddhism), and alternative Western thinking (e.g., post-human Bildung). This critical review provides justification for a stronger reflection about how to include views, aspects, and practices from indigenous communities into science teaching and learning. It also suggests that indigenous knowledge offers rich and authentic contexts for science learning. At the same time, it provides chances to reflect views on nature and science in contemporary (Western) science education for contributing to the development of more balanced and holistic worldviews, intercultural understanding, and sustainability.
Objective:
Opposition to vaccines is not a new event, and appeared soon after the introduction of the smallpox vaccine in the late 18th century. The purpose of this review is to educate healthcare professionals about vaccine hesitancy and refusal, its causes and consequences, and make suggestions to address this challenge.
Source of data:
A comprehensive and non-systematic search was carried out in the PubMed, LILACS, and ScieLo databases from 1980 to the present day, using the terms "vaccine refusal," "vaccine hesitancy," and "vaccine confidence." The publications considered as the most relevant by the author were critically selected.
Synthesis of data:
The beliefs and arguments of the anti-vaccine movements have remained unchanged in the past two centuries, but new social media has facilitated the dissemination of information against vaccines. Studies on the subject have intensified after 2010, but the author did not retrieve any published studies to quantify this behavior in Brazil. The nomenclature on the subject (vaccine hesitancy) was standardized by the World Health Organization in 2012. Discussions have been carried out on the possible causes of vaccine hesitancy and refusal, as well as on the behavior of families and health professionals. Proposals for interventions to decrease public doubts, clarify myths, and improve confidence in vaccines have been made. Guides for the health care professional to face the problem are emerging.
Conclusions:
The healthcare professional is a key element to transmit information, resolve doubts and increase confidence in vaccines. They must be prepared to face this new challenge.
Background:
Public trust in immunization is an increasingly important global health issue. Losses in confidence in vaccines and immunization programmes can lead to vaccine reluctance and refusal, risking disease outbreaks and challenging immunization goals in high- and low-income settings. National and international immunization stakeholders have called for better monitoring of vaccine confidence to identify emerging concerns before they evolve into vaccine confidence crises.
Methods:
We perform a large-scale, data-driven study on worldwide attitudes to immunizations. This survey - which we believe represents the largest survey on confidence in immunization to date - examines perceptions of vaccine importance, safety, effectiveness, and religious compatibility among 65,819 individuals across 67 countries. Hierarchical models are employed to probe relationships between individual- and country-level socio-economic factors and vaccine attitudes obtained through the four-question, Likert-scale survey.
Findings:
Overall sentiment towards vaccinations is positive across all 67 countries, however there is wide variability between countries and across world regions. Vaccine-safety related sentiment is particularly negative in the European region, which has seven of the ten least confident countries, with 41% of respondents in France and 36% of respondents in Bosnia & Herzegovina reporting that they disagree that vaccines are safe (compared to a global average of 13%). The oldest age group (65+) and Roman Catholics (amongst all faiths surveyed) are associated with positive views on vaccine sentiment, while the Western Pacific region reported the highest level of religious incompatibility with vaccines. Countries with high levels of schooling and good access to health services are associated with lower rates of positive sentiment, pointing to an emerging inverse relationship between vaccine sentiments and socio-economic status.
Conclusions:
Regular monitoring of vaccine attitudes - coupled with monitoring of local immunization rates - at the national and sub-national levels can identify populations with declining confidence and acceptance. These populations should be prioritized to further investigate the drivers of negative sentiment and to inform appropriate interventions to prevent adverse public health outcomes.
The idea of family resemblance, when applied to science, can provide a powerful account of the nature of science (NOS). In this chapter we develop such an account by taking into consideration the consensus on NOS that emerged in the science education literature in the last decade or so. According to the family resemblance approach, the nature of science can be systematically and comprehensively characterised in terms of a number of science categories which exhibit strong similarities and overlaps amongst diverse scientific disciplines. We then discuss the virtues of this approach and make some suggestions as to how one can go about teaching it in the classroom.
Educators advocate that science education can help the development of more
responsible worldviews when students learn not only scientific concepts, but also about
science, or ‘‘nature of science’’. Cosmology can help the formation of worldviews because
this topic is embedded in socio-cultural and religious issues. Indeed, during the Cold War
period, the cosmological controversy between Big Bang and Steady State theory was tied
up with political and religious arguments. The present paper discusses a didactic sequence
developed for and applied in a pre-service science teacher-training course on history of
science. After studying the historical case, pre-service science teachers discussed how to
deal with possible conflicts between scientific views and students’ personal worldviews
related to religion. The course focused on the study of primary and secondary sources
about cosmology and religion written by cosmologists such as Georges Lemaı
ˆtre, Fred
Hoyle and the Pope Pius XII. We used didactic strategies such as short seminars given by
groups of pre-service teachers, videos, computer simulations, role-play, debates and
preparation of written essays. Along the course, most pre-service teachers emphasized
differences between science and religion and pointed out that they do not feel prepared to
conduct classroom discussions about this topic. Discussing the relations between science
and religion using the history of cosmology turned into an effective way to teach not only
science concepts but also to stimulate reflections about nature of science. This topic may
contribute to increasing students’ critical stance on controversial issues, without the need to
explicitly defend certain positions, or disapprove students’ cultural traditions. Moreover,
pre-service teachers practiced didactic strategies to deal with this kind of unusual content.
Article may be retrieved at http://www.pantaneto.co.uk/issue25/front25.htm
As we come to recognize the conventional and artifactual status of our forms of knowing, [we realize] that it is ourselves and not reality that is responsible for what we know. (Stevan Shapin and Simon Schaffer, 1985) It always seems to me extreme rashness on the part of some when they want to make human abilities the measure of what nature can do.
Over the last 50 years a new research area, science education research, has arisen and undergone singular development worldwide. In the specific case of Brazil, research in science education first appeared systematically 40 years ago, as a consequence of an overall renovation in the field of science education. This evolution was also related to the political events taking place in the country. We will use the theoretical work of Rene Kaës on the development of groups and institutions as a basis for our discussion of the most important aspects that have helped the area of science education research develop into an institution and kept it operating as such. The growth of this area of research can be divided into three phases: The first was related to its beginning and early configurations; the second consisted of a process of consolidation of this institution; and the third consists of more recent developments, characterised by a multiplicity of research lines and corresponding challenges to be faced. In particular, we will analyse the special contributions to this study gleaned from the field known as the history and philosophy of science.
This paper presents a critique of 'voice discourse' in the sociology of education (and beyond). The discourse of 'voice' is identified with a position that has recurred periodically since the early 1970s, which reduces knowledge to experience in order to de-legitimise rational, epistemologically grounded knowledge forms and truth claims that are represented as expressing no more than the 'standpoints' and 'interests' of 'dominant' social groups. Today, this position is represented in a variety of postmodernist approaches and earlier in phenomenologically inspired approaches associated with the New Sociology of Education. The paper argues that these reductionist, relativistic and perspectival approaches rely upon a simplistic and positivistic caricature of science that appears unaware of significant debates in 'post-empiricist' philosophy of science. Their position is untenable and has been shown to be so for a long time. It is suggested that 'voice' discourse requires to be accounted for sociologically as a position-taking strategy within the intellectual field rather than accepted as a theoretically sustainable approach. Recent work by Basil Bernstein is drawn upon in order to produce a structural description of this position.
Helping students develop informed views of nature of science (NOS) has been and continues to be a central goal for kindergarten through Grade 12 (K–12) science education. Since the early 1960s, major efforts have been undertaken to enhance K–12 students and science teachers' NOS views. However, the crucial component of assessing learners' NOS views remains an issue in research on NOS. This article aims to (a) trace the development of a new open-ended instrument, the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS), which in conjunction with individual interviews aims to provide meaningful assessments of learners' NOS views; (b) outline the NOS framework that underlies the development of the VNOS; (c) present evidence regarding the validity of the VNOS; (d) elucidate the use of the VNOS and associated interviews, and the range of NOS aspects that it aims to assess; and (e) discuss the usefulness of rich descriptive NOS profiles that the VNOS provides in research related to teaching and learning about NOS. The VNOS comes in response to some calls within the science education community to go back to developing standardized forced-choice paper and pencil NOS assessment instruments designed for mass administrations to large samples. We believe that these calls ignore much of what was learned from research on teaching and learning about NOS over the past 30 years. The present state of this line of research necessitates a focus on individual classroom interventions aimed at enhancing learners' NOS views, rather than on mass assessments aimed at describing or evaluating students' beliefs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 497–521, 2002
Worldviews are not only about whether God exists or whether the world has a purpose. They can contain a lot more, or they
can differ in excluding the existence of God and/or a purpose for the world. In this article we define worldviews as answering
a variety of worldview questions, which we list. Once this is recognized, it becomes clear that scientific worldviews are
also a species of worldviews that should not be dismissed categorically. We then distinguish between the project of constructing
a scientific worldview and asking whether science itself has any worldview content. We argue that science, even when it is
characterized quite minimally, does have worldview content. This has some important implications for science education, which
we draw.
Less than two decades into the twenty-first century, it is evident that capitalism has failed as a social system. The world is mired in economic stagnation, financialization, and the most extreme inequality in human history, accompanied by mass unemployment and underemployment, precariousness, poverty, hunger, wasted output and lives, and what at this point can only be called a planetary ecological "death spiral." Many of the symptoms of the failure of capitalism are well-known. Nevertheless, they are often attributed not to capitalism as a system, but simply to neoliberalism, viewed as a particular paradigm of capitalist development that can be replaced by another, better one. A critical-historical analysis of neoliberalism is therefore crucial both to grounding our understanding of capitalism today and uncovering the reason why all alternatives to neoliberalism and its capitalist absolutism are closed within the system itself.
Over the past 50 years, postmodernism has been a progressively growing and influential intellectual movement inside and outside the academy. Postmodernism is characterised by rejection of parts or the whole of the Enlightenment project that had its roots in the birth and embrace of early modern science. While Enlightenment and ‘modernist’ ideas of universalism, of intellectual and cultural progress, of the possibility of finding truths about the natural and social world and of rejection of absolutism and authoritarianism in politics, philosophy and religion were first opposed at their birth in the eighteenth century, contemporary postmodernism sometimes appeals to (and sometimes disdains) philosophy of science in support of its rejection of modernism and the enlightenment programme.
This chapter briefly traces the history of nature of science (NOS) orientations in science education, notes some differences in the way NOS is defined and in arguments used to justify its inclusion in the school science curriculum and acknowledges the centrality of NOS to recent curriculum and research initiatives based on scientific argumentation, modelling and consideration of socioscientific issues (SSI). Some critical scrutiny is directed towards the so-called consensus view of NOS and whether it adequately and appropriately represents the diversity of approach across the different subdisciplines of science. Of course, serious consideration of curriculum initiatives inevitably leads to questions concerning assessment policy and practice. Key issues relate to the philosophical adequacy and psychometric robustness of questionnaires, interviews, observation studies and approaches utilizing students’ drawings and stories and how best to record and report findings. After a brief discussion of some important pedagogical matters and consideration of some contemporary emphases in NOS-oriented curricula, including SSI-oriented teaching and efforts to shift attention towards a more authentic view of contemporary scientific practice (what Ziman (2000). Real science: What it is, and what it means. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. calls post-academic science), the chapter concludes with a piece of personal self-indulgence: advocacy of a move towards an action-oriented, SSI-based approach to science education at the school level, and beyond.
The present essay examines the emerging issue of domain-general versus domain-specific nature of science (NOS) understandings from a perspective that illuminates the value of domain-specific philosophies of science for the growth and development of the NOS educational field. Under the assumption that individual sciences do have their own character, we address the unique ontological, methodological, and epistemological features of Newtonian physics and evolutionary biology and we articulate the important differences that exist between the worldviews associated with these scientific fields, namely, the Newtonian and the neo-Darwinian scientific worldviews. The former worldview is consistent in many respects with assumptions that are grounded on positivism, whereas the latter worldview provides an alternative understanding of NOS, which is predominately based in the techniques of hermeneutics and historical sciences. We subsequently attempt to present the current inadequacies and weaknesses that the NOS field is challenged with as a result of not incorporating the differences between the Newtonian and neo-Darwinian worldviews into its research or instructional agenda. In addition, we outline the heuristic power for the NOS field that may accompany a potential shift from a homogeneous view of NOS to a view more informed by the specificities of any particular science or scientific field.
In its second edition, Method in Social Science was widely praised for its penetrating analysis of central questions in social science discourse. This revised edition comes with a new preface and a full bibliography. The book is intended for students and researchers familiar with social science but having little or no previous experiences of philosophical and methodological discussion, and for those who are interested in realism and method.
What should we teach in our schools and vocational education and higher education institutions? Is theoretical knowledge still important? This book argues that providing students with access to knowledge should be the raison d'être of education. Its premise is that access to knowledge is an issue of social justice because society uses it to conduct its debates and controversies. Theoretical knowledge is increasingly marginalised in curriculum in all sectors of education, particularly in competency-based training which is the dominant curriculum model in vocational education in many countries. This book uses competency-based training to explore the negative consequences that arise when knowledge is displaced in curriculum in favour of a focus on workplace relevance. The book takes a unique approach by using the sociology of Basil Bernstein and the philosophy of critical realism as complementary modes of theorising to extend and develop social realist arguments about the role of knowledge in curriculum. Both approaches are increasingly influential in education and the social sciences and the book will be helpful for those seeking an accessible introduction to these complex subjects. Why Knowledge Matters in Curriculum is a key reading for those interested in the sociology of education, curriculum studies, work-based learning, vocational education, higher education, adult and community education, tertiary education policy and lifelong learning more broadly.
Research has now demonstrated that students can learn nature of science concepts variously through student-led investigations, contemporary cases, and historical cases. Here we articulate more precisely the merits, deficits, and context of each approach and begin to profile how to integrate them as complementary methods. Emphasis now needs to shift to the needs of practicing teachers and the detailed strategies and modes of assessment that make each method effective and manageable in a classroom and institutional context.
A realist approach to social science method, offering an alternative to both positivism and idealism, providing both the philosophical justifications and the implications for doing research in social science.
This article contributes to the growing social realist literature in the sociology of education. A world systems approach is used to explain the shift to the various forms of localisation, including the emphasis on experience in the curriculum, as a strategy of globalisation that contributes to the decline of universal class consciousness and progressive politics in the contemporary period. Limiting the curriculum to experiential knowledge limits access to a powerful class resource; that of conceptual knowledge required for critical reasoning and political agency. Knowledge that comes from experience limits the knower to that experience. The shift to localised knowledge fixes groups in the working class to a never ending present as schools that use a social constructivist approach to knowledge in the curriculum fail to provide the intellectual tools of conceptual thinking and its medium in advanced literacy that lead to an imagined, yet unknown, future.
Discusses 4 perspectives on the role teachers should assume in the discussion of controversial issues: exclusive neutrality, exclusive partiality, neutral impartiality, and committed impartiality. The perspectives of personal witness, democratic authority, and collegial mentor are drawn on to argue that teachers should assume the paradoxical role of committed impartiality when discussing controversial issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The development of adequate student conceptions of the nature of science has been a perennial objective of science instruction regardless of the currently advocated pedagogical or curricular emphases. Consequently, it has been an area of prolific research characterized by several parallel, but distinct, lines of investigation. Although research related to students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science has been conducted for approximately 40 years, a comprehensive review of the empirical literature (both quantitative and qualitative) has yet to be presented. The overall purpose of this review is to help clarify what has been learned and to elucidate the basic assumptions and logic which have guided earlier research efforts. Ultimately, recommendations related to both methodology and the focus of future research are offered.
I profile here a prospective method for assessing nature of science (NOS) knowledge, as an alternative to VNOS and similar approaches. Questions about cases in contemporary news and from history probe scientific literacy in context. Scoring targets how “well informed” the analysis is, based on identifying relevant NOS information and interpreting its import appropriately. The assessment shifts focus from declarative statements to functional (or interpretive) analysis. It also entails reframing current NOS characterizations from selective lists of tenets to the multiple dimensions shaping reliability in scientific practice, from the experimental to the social—namely, to Whole Science. This approach underscores the role of reflective student inquiry and historical and contemporary cases in NOS instruction. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed95: 518–542, 2011
This chapter argues that one weakness of the important and influential nature of science (NOS) research in science education
is that it is crucially ambiguous and unclear on important philosophical points, and that a more informed understanding of
the history and philosophy of science can rectify these problems. Further it is argued that NOS research would be improved
by changing its focus from the essentialist efforts to delineate the nature of science (and associated research on factors
affecting its teaching and learning), to a wider and more relaxed programme of enunciating important features of science (FOS)
that can contribute to teachers and students having a better and more complex appreciation of the subject they are teaching
and learning.
KeywordsWhewell-Enlightenment-Lederman-Realism-Idealisation
This paper tackles a highly controversial issue: the problem of the compatibility of science and religion, and its bearing on science and religious education respectively. We challenge the popular view that science and religion are compatible or even complementary. In order to do so, we give a brief characterization of our conceptions of science and religion. Conspicuous differences at the doctrinal, metaphysical, methodological and attitudinal level are noted. Regarding these aspects, closer examination reveals that science and religion are not only different but in fact incompatible. Some consequences of our analysis for education as well as for education policy are explored. We submit that a religious education, particularly at an early age, is an obstacle to the development of a scientific mentality. For this and other reasons, religious education should be kept away from public schools and universities. Instead of promoting a religious world view, we should teach our children what science knows about religion, i.e., how science explains the existence of religion in historical, biological, psychological and sociological terms.
This special issue of Science & Education deals with the theme of ‘Science, Worldviews and Education’. The theme is of particular importance at the present time as
many national and provincial education authorities are requiring that students learn about the Nature of Science (NOS) as
well as learning science content knowledge and process skills. NOS topics are being written into national and provincial curricula.
Such NOS matters give rise to questions about science and worldviews: What is a worldview? Does science have a worldview?
Are there specific ontological, epistemological and ethical prerequisites for the conduct of science? Does science lack a
worldview but nevertheless have implications for worldviews? How can scientific worldviews be reconciled with seemingly discordant
religious and cultural worldviews? In addition to this major curricular impetus for refining understanding of science and
worldviews, there are also pressing cultural and social forces that give prominence to questions about science, worldviews
and education. There is something of an avalanche of popular literature on the subject that teachers and students are variously
engaged by. Additionally the modernisation and science-based industrialisation of huge non-Western populations whose traditional
religions and beliefs are different from those that have been associated with orthodox science, make very pressing the questions
of whether, and how, science is committed to particular worldviews. Hugh Gauch Jr. provides a long and extensive lead essay
in the volume, and 12 philosophers, educators, scientists and theologians having read his paper, then engage with the theme.
Hopefully the special issue will contribute to a more informed understanding of the relationship between science, worldviews
and education, and provide assistance to teachers who are routinely engaged with the subject.
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