This study examines a case in Nicaragua in which an educational reform effort, involving the practical use of the natural sciences at the undergraduate college level, attempted to promote broad social and economic change. The educational reform followed as a key element in the major political transformation put in motion by the Sandinista-led revolution of 1979. This radical break was brought about by an ongoing desire for a more equitable society and division of resources and an end to the United States' chronic military and political presence (LaFaber 1984; Marcus 1985).