ABSTRACT
The growth of STS in the school curriculum was no tidy and well planned affair. It arose from a variety of causes, most of which were unimpeachable in purpose. And yet the subject is often contentious both in its nature and its method. It also highlights contradictions within science education itself. To some extent all educational theory is bound to entertain controversy: indeed it may well be healthy for it to do so. For STS the controversy — political as well as educational — is particularly sharp. Even for the student who participates in STS lessons there are tensions which attend other aspects of science to a much slighter degree.
