ABSTRACT
The past 50 years have seen tremendous activity in science education, both in terms of the development of curricula and in terms of the research conducted on how people (mostly school students) know and learn science. Yet despite the tremendous amount of work done, many of the problems that had occasioned interest in the field after the Sputnik shock continue to persist. Thus, more than ever, many students do not see science as relevant to their lives and opt not to enroll in science courses at the secondary and post-secondary levels. More than ever, students do not opt for careers in science and scientists, reflecting on this issue in their flagship journal Science, wonder about ways in which they can increase the “throughput” in their science “pipelines.” A concern for science education that is to serve and educate all members of society, however, cannot be the same as the one for throughput and pipelines. Whereas scientists’ concerns are legitimate to the extent that we need scientists and engineers to produce knowledge that allows humans to control their environment and therefore to guarantee the survival of the species, science education for all has to be different in nature (Roth & Barton, 2004) because it has to address itself to the very different needs that distinguish the general public from those specific individuals whose needs are met when they pick up careers in science.
