ABSTRACT
Preface An invitation to compose what amounts to a ‘professional autobiography of ideas’, based on published papers, is a most disconcerting experience. To address the task efficiently, one would need to be both many years away from all the relevant facts and to be emotionally detached from them, as is the case in the writing of all worthwhile histories. Neither of these conditions can be met here, for my professional life is still vigorously active. Perhaps more importantly, I have only kept sketchy records of ideas and output over the years, there being no expectation of such an invitation. I therefore do not wish to give an undue impression of coherence or progression in what is included. Scientific papers have been described as ‘frauds’, meaning that individual published papers have an internal logical structure that is never an accurate reflection of the actual conduct of the enquiries being reported. This must surely be true of a structure composed of many papers, produced over several decades, addressing a range of themes, albeit that they are allied. However, a structure had to be devised for this book. The established convention of publishing is that one or more storylines should run through it. I have decided to present the selected papers grouped by themes set in the context of national and international concerns in science education. The realities of decision-taking and action at the time were infinitely more complex however.
