In this elementary science curriculum development effort, concepts are used as tools in the realization of objectives, but they are not objectives in themselves.

In 2008 the Ministry of Education in Kuwait began to reform the science curriculum in schools at all academic stages: primary (grades 1-5), intermediate (6-9) and secondary (10-12). The new science curriculum was adapted from an original curriculum which had been designed and published by the Amercan company Pearson-Scott Foreman. This study explores the perspectives of science teachers and students concerning the new science curriculum for the sixth and seventh grades (students aged 11 to 15) in the State of Kuwait. The study also investigated the process of the reform and the roles that science teachers and students performed in this reform process. The study used Sociocultural Theory as a framework to examine the science curriculum reform process and to discuss findings. A multi-method design was used with both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect the data: science teachers’ and students’ questionnaires; interviews with science teachers, students and science curriculum reformers; and classroom observations. The study sample was selected randomly. The questionnaire was conducted with 310 science teachers and 647 students. 11 science teachers, nine reformers and 30 students (five in each of six focus groups) were chosen to conduct in-depth interviews. Ten classroom observations were conducted with four science teachers. The study indicated that the science curriculum reform process was controlled centrally by the Ministry of Education and teachers and students did not participate in any stage of the reform process. The findings also found that many of the science teachers and students held negative views about the new science curriculum. They felt that the content of the new curriculum does not relate very well to Kuwaiti culture, to the Islamic religion and that the curriculum objectives needed to be more clear and achievable. The findings showed that many of the students indicated that they have difficulty understanding much of the content and did not enjoy studying science. Most of the teachers indicated that they faced challenges in teaching the new science curriculum. These included a lack of instructional tools, lack of teacher autonomy, the amount of material that needed covering and large class sizes. This study recommends reviewing the new science curriculum (now currently in use) taking into account the perspectives of teachers and students. It recommends that in carrying out curriculum reform the Ministry of Education be encouraged to provide guidance in the form of instructional tools and professional development programmes for teachers. These should be designed to help teachers develop the pedagogic skills needed to address the complex relationships between science and culture and between science and religion.

Student Number : 0392307 PhD thesis Faculty of Science / In this study I explore concepts of relevant science, curriculum and development through participation and engagement with two schools and their community in the rural area of Chibini in Kwa-Zulu Natal. During a three-year involvement a research team, students, teachers, parents and farmers, supported by traditional leaders and NGO1s, developed a communitybased science curriculum. Amongst urgent concerns for health care, employment, traditional values – even survival, profound lessons in understandings of appropriate science, practical skills-development and ubuntu emerged. Western conventions of frameworks, protocols, goals, identity, even ways of researching are challenged through engaged transformation. Relevant science has parallels with relevant research in its purposes and processes of contributing to both knowledge and community well-being. The research drew upon interdisciplinary pedagogy as well as interdisciplinary methodological paradigms, moving from learner-centred education to communitycentred education and from the research paradigm of mindful inquiry to ubuntu. Rural communities can benefit from community-centred, project-based learning which contributes to immediate needs, draws on community strengths and is centred in ubuntu. Rural communities, in turn, have valuable contributions to make to science education transformation. This study formed part of a collaborative project: ‘Human Rights, Democracy, and Social Justice: Science and Mathematics Literacy in Disadvantaged Communities’ led from the Centre for Educational Research, Evaluation and Policy, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.

The research reported in this thesis is an in-depth study of science education reform in a transitional society. The society in transition is Rwanda - one of the world's poorest countries - a tiny central African nation adversely affected by major social, political, economic, and ethnic upheaval. Rwanda is faced with the challenge of ensuring rehabilitation after the genocide of 1994 and has adopted the following national goals: implementation of a durable educational policy, eradication of illiteracy, national capacity building in science and technology and reinforcing the teaching of mathematics and sciences.The objective of this research is to describe, discuss and analyse information on the status of science education in Rwanda, from the perspective of primary and secondary science teachers, students, education personnel and my personal in-field observations and analysis. This research analyses the constraints in the implementation of educational policies and a relevant science education in a climate of social, political, cultural, ethnic and economic uncertainty.The research used a case study methodology and utilised quantitative and qualitative methods to examine how teachers' and students' knowledge, perceptions and experiences impact on the school learning environment. The study made use of a questionnaire that was administered to teachers and students in Rwanda. English and French versions of a modified School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ) and a modified Teacher Beliefs Instrument (STEBI) were administered to teachers. Two scales derived from the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA) were adapted for use in Rwandan classes.The qualitative component of the research made use of interviews, classroom observations, personal reflexivity, historical and curriculum document analysis and vignettes. / To enable an interpretation of the quantitative data from questionnaires in a meaningful manner, the socio-cultural, gender and ethnic perspectives of policy makers, teachers and students were examined through interviews and classroom observations of science lessons. My personal experiences and reflections also were used to understand science education reform in Rwanda.The qualitative and quantitative findings of the research identified factors that influence the science education reform process and make meaningful interpretations of background, culture and the situation in Rwanda. Document analysis indicated that there is a need for greater access to secondary education. Interviews and science lesson observations indicated that it is necessary to develop a curriculum that is contextually relevant and to redefine science teacher training programmes. The findings of the research identified the constraints, dilemmas and tensions in the implementation of the educational reform process as young and inexperienced teachers, most of whom do not have university degrees and have difficulties in implementing the curriculum effectively. Further constraints included work pressures due to the examination system, an acute, as well as a lack of material resources and finances required to reconstruct and improve educational institutions.The research investigates the impact of the transition on science education in Rwanda. The research designed to examine the science education reform process in the transitional Rwandan society and economy studied the complex cultural, historical and educational factors that influence science education. / Using multiple research methods, this study is an analysis of my understanding of the changes that have taken place in science education, the impediments to these changes and the identification of aspects that may enhance the prospect for future science education reform, especially in the areas of the science curriculum reform, assessment procedures and teacher professional development.

Although science is viewed by some as objective, analytical and unaffected by morals and values, the practice of science does raise many ethical issues. From an ethical standpoint, science teachers have an obligation to ensure that their students develop the skills to enable them to evaluate and make decisions about ethical issues associated with scientific advances so that they can make informed choices as adults. An appropriate forum for such a pedagogical concern is the subject of bioethics education.The purpose of this doctoral study was to investigate the teaching of bioethics in science. Specifically, the study attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of innovative pedagogical strategies utilised by teachers who were incorporating bioethics education into their secondary science curricula. Bioethics education is concerned with enabling students, firstly, to appreciate the range of ethical issues associated with the life sciences and, secondly, to develop decision making skills based on ethical theories.Using an interpretive case study approach underpinned by a constructivist theoretical framework, I examined the teaching practice of three science teachers in different school systems. Each of these teachers taught Year 10 or Year 11 science courses that included a bioethics component. The research process was informed by an ethic of care and the constructivist criteria of credibility, transferability and ontological authenticity.As a result of the early data generated, I adopted the role of a bricoleur and used alternative research methods to pursue emergent research questions. I developed a survey consisting of four bioethical dilemmas. Bioethics students were asked to resolve each of the dilemmas and provide reasons to support their decisions. Using an ex post facto research design, I compared students who had studied bioethics with a comparison ++ / group of students who had not. I also wrote narrative tales in an endeavour to provide an authentic account of the learning of individual students. Commentaries on the tales, by students and teachers, helped to enrich my understanding of students' learning experiences in the bioethics classes.The research findings are presented as 'inferences', a term which acknowledges the context dependent nature of the data generated. Five themes emerged from the data analysis which, together, indicate (1) the nature of potentially successful teaching strategies for bioethics education and (2) obstacles to students' successful engagement in learning bioethics: teacher attributes; design of bioethics courses; student attributes; impact on student learning; and physical and social constraints. Another key finding concerns the difficulty facing researchers who wish to 'measure' the impact of bioethics teaching on student learning.All three teachers displayed potentially successful teaching strategies. They were committed to the inclusion of bioethics education in their science courses. They had clearly articulated pedagogical goals related to bioethics education. They endeavoured to create safe learning environments in which students could clarify and explore their developing ethical values. When students expressed extreme views, the teachers, through careful questioning, challenged them to consider alternative ethical positions.In relation to the design of bioethics education courses, most of the learning activities in which students participated were based on small group and whole-class discussion (e.g., role plays, oral presentations). These activities provided opportunities for students to examine a topic in depth. Importantly, students were provided with information to help them understand the scientific content area before they could appreciate the associated ethical issues.In ++ / the three cases, it appears that bioethics education had a variable effect on student learning. Attributes were identified that may have influenced student engagement in opportunities to learn bioethics: the students' moral maturity, academic ability, attitude to learning, beliefs about science and ethics, family and religious background.Evidence suggests that exposure to bioethics education can affect favourably students' attitudes to science. However, the results of the bioethical dilemma survey suggest that, on average, there was no difference in the way that students resolved dilemmas, regardless of whether or not they had been exposed to bioethics education. Although there was considerable variation amongst students, most of the students' responses differed from those of experts in that the students tended to focus solely on the rights of individuals, without considering the long term consequences of their decisions.Constraints were identified that may adversely affect the impact of bioethics education in science: scarcity of resources, including insufficient teaching time; and, amongst science teachers, lack of expertise in the content areas that raise bioethical issues and lack of experience in the types of learning activities appropriate for bioethics education.The findings of this research study are significant as they highlight important issues that may need to be considered by curriculum planners and science teachers who wish to incorporate bioethics education into science curricula.

A considerable interest in the concept of emergent curriculum has been generated by the early childhood centres of Reggio Emilia in Italy. This study traces the progress of a science project on spiders in an Australian early childhood centre which purports to have an emergent curriculum. In particular, this study sought to answer the question: What form does a science learning project take in an early childhood class that purports to have an emergent curriculum philosophy? What are the processes involved? What are the roles of the main players? Was this curriculum truly an emergent one? How did it fit with the different perspectives being taken to emergent curriculum in the literature? Did science learning take place? How did this learning fit with current views on science learning in the literature? Using a participant observation approach, this study looks at factors that characterise the processes and the players in this project and considers these in the context of current views on emergent curriculum and early childhood science. Results indicate that while the curriculum in this centre was clearly ‘emergent’, it differed in some minor aspects from both the Reggio Emilia model and the American model of emergent curriculum. The approach used was consistent with the social constructivist approach to science teaching and was clearly conductive to the children's science learning. The study shows that emergent curriculum is a very appropriate approach for science learning.

The 'Discipline Review of Teacher Education in Mathematics and Science' (Department of Employment, Education and Training, 1989, p 81) concludes that science in primary schools is in a state of crisis. This finding is not new as there have been concerns about primary school science for many years. It is likely that one of the reasons why the problem remains could relate to the attitudes and beliefs that teachers hold about the subject and its importance in the primary school curriculum. Another reason put forward relates to the limited background experiences in science of many primary school teachers. In particular, their knowledge of content matter and strategies for teaching the subject is limited. As a consequence, many primary teachers do not feel confident to teach science so they avoid it or teach only units with which they are familiar. This leads to inconsistent science teaching and an ineffective science curriculum in many primary schools. The research question, What factors influence the teaching of science in a primary school?' is investigated through a case study of a primary school. Teachers' attitudes to, and beliefs about, the subject are explored in relation to their background experiences, teacher education and knowledge of science. How these factors influence their classroom teaching is explored through the context of the physical environment and culture of the school, the culture of teaching and the instructional leadership of the principal. The case study is based on information obtained from teacher surveys and interviews, journal entries and school documents. A typology which helps clarify factors influencing the teaching of science is developed. It provides insight into the problems of teaching the subject and how they may be addressed. A case study of the principal adds to the typology by providing the principal's perspective of science in the school. It is likely that the school featured in the case study is representative of many primary schools. The findings and recommendations may therefore have wider implications and may contribute to more effective teaching of science in many primary schools.

A considerable interest in the concept of emergent curriculum has been generated by the early childhood centres of Reggio Emilia in Italy. This study traces the progress of a science project on spiders in an Australian early childhood centre which purports to have an emergent curriculum. In particular, this study sought to answer the question: What form does a science learning project take in an early childhood class that purports to have an emergent curriculum philosophy? What are the processes involved? What are the roles of the main players? Was this curriculum truly an emergent one? How did it fit with the different perspectives being taken to emergent curriculum in the literature? Did science learning take place? How did this learning fit with current views on science learning in the literature? Using a participant observation approach, this study looks at factors that characterise the processes and the players in this project and considers these in the context of current views on emergent curriculum and early childhood science. Results indicate that while the curriculum in this centre was clearly ‘emergent’, it differed in some minor aspects from both the Reggio Emilia model and the American model of emergent curriculum. The approach used was consistent with the social constructivist approach to science teaching and was clearly conductive to the children's science learning. The study shows that emergent curriculum is a very appropriate approach for science learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Aug. 14, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-216). Also issued in print.

The aim of this study is to reveal the teachers