ABSTRACT
One of the fathers of modern science education, Paul deHart Hurd, suggested that “a valid interpretation of scientific literacy must be consistent with the prevailing image of science and the revolutionary changes taking place in our society.”3 For many, this has meant using laboratory science as a template for what science is, independent of the epistemological paradigm brought to science education reform. Science courses often remain means of pushing students into the world of scientists rather than a way of helping them cope with their own life worlds. The needs of diverse groups of people-except white middleclass males-have not been met, leading to, by and large, their exclusion from science. Despite tremendous efforts expended, so the tenor often goes, educational reforms have for the most part failed to produce scientifically literate citizens.
