Skip to main content

School Policy in Science Education

Promoting a More Humanistic Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Science

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Assessing Schools for Generation R (Responsibility)

Part of the book series: Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education ((CTISE,volume 41))

  • 1461 Accesses

Abstract

The premise of this volume is that the next generation of Americans—dubbed Generation R (for Responsibility)—will face personal, environmental, and social challenges different from any we have faced before. Citizens of responsibility will be more attuned to personal health, environmental sustainability, and community building through collaborative action, and the science education they receive will be holistic, integrated, and attuned to the relationship between humans and the physical world. Measures of school effectiveness will need to capture this holistic spirit. Finally, schools must start now to get ready for this next generation of learners. In this chapter I review the extent to which past and current policies in science education are preparing us for this transformation to an integrated, holistic, and humanistic approach to science education and the creation of indicators of school achievement to match that focus.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Achieve, Inc., (2013). Next generation science standards. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1989). Science for all Americans. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science. (2001, 2007). Atlas of science literacy, Volumes 1 and 2. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryce, T. (2007). Standards in science education: The situation in Scotland. In D. Waddington, P. Nentwig, & S. Schanze (Eds.), Making it comparable: Standards in science education (pp. 255–262). Munster: Waxmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bybee, R. (1993). Reforming science education: Social perspectives and personal reflections. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBoer, G. (1991). A history of ideas in science education: Implications for practice. New York: Columbia University Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBoer, G. (2006). History of the science standards movement in the United States. In D. Sunal & E. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 7–49). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBoer, G. (2011). The globalization of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(6), 567–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driessen, H. (2007). Development and evaluation of science standards in the Netherlands. In D. Waddington, P. Nentwig, & S. Schanze (Eds.), Making it comparable: Standards in science education (pp. 221–236). Munster: Waxmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurd, P. (1970). New directions in teaching secondary school science. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, Pub. L. No.103-382, 20 U.S.C. § 8001 et. seq. (1994). Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/toc.html

  • Millar, R. (2007). How standards in science education are set and monitored in the English education system. In D. Waddington, P. Nentwig, & S. Schanze (Eds.), Making it comparable: Standards in science education (pp. 83–100). Munster: Waxmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Education Association. (1894). Report of the committee on secondary school studies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Science Teachers Association. (1971). NSTA position statement on school science education for the 70’s. The Science Teacher, 38, 46–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Science Teachers Association. (1982). Science-technology-society: Science education for the 1980s. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Pub. L. No. 107–110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 (H.R. 2054, S. 866). House bill available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2054. Senate bill available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-866

  • OECD. (2006). Assessing scientific, reading, and mathematical literacy: A framework for PISA 2006. Paris: Author. Available online at http://www.oecd.org/document/32/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_37468320_1_1_1_1,00.html

  • Sadler, T., & Zeidler, D. (2009). Scientific literacy, PISA, and socioscientific discourse: Assessment for progressive aims of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(8), 909–921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Exploratory Committee on Chemical Education. (2003). Building chemistry: A blueprint to initiate renewal of chemistry programme in upper secondary education in the Netherlands. Enschede: SLO.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. A report of the national commission on excellence in education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education. (1991). America 2000: An education strategy sourcebook. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education. (2010). A blueprint for reform: The reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinert, F. E. (2001). Vergleichende Leistungsmessung in schuler – eine umstrittene selbstverstandlichkeit (Comparative assessment in schools – A natural controversy). In F. E. Weinert (Ed.), Leistungsmessungen in schulen (Assessment in schools) (pp. 17–31). Weinheim/Basel: Belz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yager, R. (1985). In defense of defining science education as the science/society interface. Science Education, 69, 143–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to George E. DeBoer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

DeBoer, G.E. (2014). School Policy in Science Education. In: Mueller, M., Tippins, D., Stewart, A. (eds) Assessing Schools for Generation R (Responsibility). Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, vol 41. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2748-9_27

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics