ABSTRACT
SL is given programmatic form when translated into curriculum documents and materials such as standards, curriculum frameworks, instruction and assessment
guides, and textbooks. The translation entails reconceptualizing school science in a way that, on the one hand, honors a defensible view of SL as an overarching educational goal, and on the other hand, takes into consideration the requirement of curriculum making practice in schools and classrooms. Two features are central to the process of translation: (1) a “theory of content” (Doyle, 1992b)—a special way of selecting, arranging, and framing content for educational, curricular, and pedagogical purposes-and (2) a set of conditions or criteria about teaching, assessment, and professional development that are necessary for enhancing SL in school science. The National Science Education Standards for the United States (the Standards hereafter) illustrates these two features. The Standards purports to be the basis for enabling all students in the nation to achieve SL, which is characterized in terms of four major goals. It is intended that students will
be able to:
• experience the richness and excitement of knowing about and understanding the natural world,
• use appropriate scientific processes and principles in making personal decisions,
• engage intelligently in public discourse and debate about matters of scientific and technological concern, and
• increase their economic productivity through the use of the knowledge, understanding, and skills of the scientifically literate person in their careers.
