MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION: Hong Kong, Finland Students Top High School Test of Applied Skills

Science ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 306 (5703) ◽  
pp. 1877a-1877a
Author(s):  
D. Grimm
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Math And Science ◽  
Applied Skills

Toward equity and excellence in math and science education

1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy K. Atwood ◽  
William J. Doherty
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Math And Science

scholarly journals The environment and politics in science education: the case of teaching fracking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Dunlop ◽  
Lucy Atkinson ◽  
Maria Turkenburg-van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Young People ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
School Science ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
High School Science ◽  
Illustrative Case

AbstractHydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’), like other complex social and environmental issues, is a controversy about science which raises educational questions about how best to prepare young people to understand, respond to and, where necessary, act (or not) in response. It raises political questions. We present a state-of-the-art review of research literature on fracking and education using systematic strategies, with a view to finding out how it is framed in educational situations and how politics enters the science classroom. This serves as an illustrative case of how contested scientific and technological interventions with implications for the environment and society are treated in school science. The review is supplemented by interviews with 10 teachers of science and engineering working in schools or colleges near sites of operational exploratory fracking. We find that the research literature on teaching hydraulic fracturing is sparse, with only 25 studies relating to teaching and learning about fracking. Few studies (n = 7) relate to high school education. Where it features in science education, fracking is used as a context for interdisciplinarity and critical thinking, and lends itself to approaches using discussion, dialogue and modelling. Outcomes from fracking education range include knowledge gains and critical thinking. Teachers interviewed tended not to see a place for fracking in the curriculum or in the classroom and were averse to including politics in upper high school science education. Our analysis suggests depoliticization through absence of this specific complex environmental issue from the public (education) sphere, reinforced by the desire for ‘balance’ in high school science education and instrumental approaches to science education which prioritize assessed learning outcomes. Dealing with complex social and environmental issues such as hydraulic fracturing in the years of compulsory science schooling is necessary because scientific knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to prepare young people for the critical scientific literacy required to meet sustainable development goals. There is a need to assess and respond to the educational needs of local communities affected by industrial interventions such as fracking. These findings are likely to be relatable to other issues where there are local and global consequences of action or inaction and where the environment and health are pitted against economic and energy demands.

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