ABSTRACT
Received science has been criticized on three grounds from a gender perspective. The first is its reductionism and its claim to be objective and value-free (for example, Harding, 1986, 1991; Keller, 1985; Rose and Rose, 1980). Second, the conventional style of learning and teaching in science, its pedagogy, has been challenged. It is suggested that enquiry methods used by scientists are often intrusive and mechanistic, separating observer and observed, and reinforcing competition. Further, these methods are presented not only as ‘correct’ but also as the only way possible (for example, Kelly, 1987; Whyte et al, 1985). Third, having rejected objectivity as an untenable criterion for judging science, a new scientific epistemology was required and has been derived (see Rosser, 1990) by examining the connections between the discipline and those who use it, and the society within which it develops. This line of reasoning is consistent with a broad range of thinking in the sociology of science.
