ABSTRACT
First, science is not terribly popular. It commands respect, but not affection. Only a few per cent of the population are needed as qualified scientists or engineers. Many of the remainder stop studying science at the earliest opportunity – which until recently in England and Wales could be as early as the age of 14. The coverage of science in newspapers and radio and television programmes is minuscule in proportion to that of books, plays and films. Many a cultured person is not at all ashamed to claim to lack all understanding of science. These obvious facts set the scene for much discussion about science education, and cast into harsh relief some of its more inflated ambitions.
