ABSTRACT
THE WAYS IN WHICH we teach science in our primary schools depend to a great extent on our beliefs about why we are doing it.What is it that makes it worthwhile? It is not the main aim of primary science to produce biochemists, engineers, doctors, ecologists, astronomers and wildlife photographers. Some adults will have a greater need for an understanding of particular aspects of science in their everyday lives than others, depending on their roles and interests, and primary science provides the foundation for this, but primary science has a much broader agenda. Primary-aged children are already beginning to position themselves in relation to different aspects of the curriculum and identify favourite things and perhaps label others as ‘boring’. Lifelong views and interests can be initiated by powerful experiences during childhood,and so primary educators have a responsibility to ensure that children’s experiences of science are positive. It is important that all social groups have access to all areas of science so that different perspectives are represented within the scientifically literate population, and no groups, for example women, are excluded by the ways in which science is presented. Stereotypes about scientists can be actively challenged.An important aim of science education as a whole is establishing ‘scientific literacy’ across the population. Science is not something scientists do in isolation from the rest of society. It requires funding, and so the providers of these funds must consider the research to be worthwhile. In many cases science is supported by public money, via taxation. Science is also subject to government regulation, such
C H A P T E R
as ethical guidance for the use of animal experiments and standards for testing medicines. So it is not just scientists that need to make decisions about science and the directions in which science goes. In their roles as consumers, parents, citizens and voters, everyone has a stake in science and, arguably, a responsibility for it. In a scientifically literate society people would engage with science issues that affect society as a whole and take an active part through democratic processes and personal decisions.Primary-aged children are already developing viewpoints on issues that have an ethical as well as a scientific basis, such as how farm animals should be treated and how habitats should be protected.
