ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the purpose of science education and argues that a quality curriculum is essential to develop the next generation of scientists and to ensure all Australians have a high level of scientific literacy. The type of learning offered to students is dictated through curriculum documents. Before considering Australian science-curriculum documents, the term, curriculum, is defined and explained. The Australian science curriculum describes the rationale and aims of school science education from Foundation through to Year 12. In some schools, especially larger ones, there may be well-documented teaching programs that set out a sequence of learning and teaching activities. Science learning in primary classrooms is often experienced through the lens of inquiry-based approaches and connected with overarching topics or issues. In the Australian Curriculum: Science, there are science subjects: biology, chemistry, physics and earth and environmental science.
