Investigating the relationship between participation in the building infrastructure leading to diversity (BUILD) initiative and intent to pursue a science career: A cross-sectional analysis

This paper presents an analysis of survey data to examine the association between supervised structured mentoring and students' intent to pursue a career in science. Data were collected from students in the 10 Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) research training programs, developed through grants from the National Institutes of Health. Propensity score matching and multinomial logistic regression demonstrated that exposure to BUILD programs-meaning participation in undergraduate research, receipt of mentoring from a primary mentor, and/or participation as a funded scholar and/or associate of each BUILD site's training program-was associated with increased intent to pursue a science career. These findings have implications for STEM program evaluation and practice in higher education.

Wikipedia as an academic service-learning tool in science and technology: higher education case from Siberia

Wikipedia, the open crowdsourced encyclopedia that anyone can edit, ranks among the top ten most-visited websites globally. Its integration into university curriculum as an innovative educational tool is a slowly growing trend; however, many higher education institutions have yet to fully grasp its potential. In response, a specific optional module for Wikipedia editing, designed for the selected undergraduate science courses at the School of Advanced Studies, Russia, was implemented as an optional extra credit service-learning activity, a teaching methodology combining meaningful service to the community with curriculum-based learning. Students who chose to participate and those who preferred not to participate in the activity were invited to participate in a research project to explore their perspectives and experiences. In total, five sessions of focus group discussions were conducted with participants (12 females and 2 males) in one set and non-participants (5 females and 4 males) in another to identify students' perspectives on themes such as their interest in science, reasons for their choices, and their expectations before the activity while post-experience focus group discussions were used to identify the perspectives of participant students on themes, encompassing contribution of the service-learning activity, acquisition of new skills, and the development of prosocial behaviors. Students' opinions on integrating social responsibility topics into the curriculum were also explored. The results extracted from these focus group discussions, analyzed through consensual coding, revealed factors promoting student participation, like interest in the subject, novelty of the activity, and grade improvement opportunities, as well as factors deterring participation, such as concerns about academic benefits, workload, and time constraints. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that Wikipedia editing serves as a novel teaching methodology, promoting student learning and development in digital literacy and information literacy, which are among the twenty-first-century skills. Interestingly, at the same time, not all students could address the value of contributing to open, crowdsourced knowledge for public service or interpret this activity as an academic service-learning. These suggest that Wikipedia editing is an innovative teaching approach, fostering students' learning and development while also indicating its potential to enhance students' understanding of responsible citizenship and public service in the digital age.

"Scie-losophy" a teaching and learning framework for the reconciliation of the P4C and the scientific method

Today's students face new challenges that demand high levels of intelligence and meta-thinking skills. Science-based educational pedagogies like STEM, 5E's, and discovery-based education have earned a strong reputation for nurturing children's reasoning and critical thinking skills. However, there's a need for them to be more open and conceptual in order to better prepare students for modern life's challenges. The realms of philosophical and scientific-based educational models currently dominate the educational arena. In retrospect, both models have inherent values that would benefit learners. It is beneficial to examine both methods to develop a teaching framework that fosters higher-order thinking, metacognition, and problem-solving skills. The objective of this paper is to delve into the essenceof the philosophy for children (P4C) method in comparison with the scientific method and their impact onstudents' learning. Using the six reasoning strands, I will systematically compare the two models for strengths and similarities. Throughout this comparison, I aim to maintain objectivity by by drawing on references and practical experience, avoiding any undue bias in favor of one model over the other. Subsequently, by applyingTrompenaars Hampden-Turner™ dilemmas reconciliation model, I will propose the Scie-losophy model, which represents reconciliation between the two methods for the benefit of the learner and the greater good of society. •Currently, philosophical, and scientific-based education models dominate the educational arena. Both models have inherent values that would benefit learners.•Adopting one approach above the other will yield less than optimal results. I strongly discourage following a saturated educational system in which one of the two methods is used exclusively.•I propose a model that represents reconciliation between the two methods for the benefit of the learner and the interest of society.

How to foster STEM learning during Covid-19 remote schooling: Combining virtual and video experiments

Understanding scientific concepts is a fundamental aim of science education. Conceptual understanding can be fostered through inquiry learning with experiments. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic school closures hands-on experiments could hardly be realized. Fortunately, digital technologies allow for conducting experiments virtually by using interactive simulations or observing video recordings of hands-on experiments. In the present study, 154 seventh graders in remote schooling were involved in inquiry learning using either a combination of virtual and video experiments in two different orders or only virtual experiments. We hypothesized that in general inquiry learning fosters students' conceptual understanding in physics, which could be confirmed. Moreover, we expected the combinations to be more effective than learning with virtual experiments only due to the complementary roles of the prior, which was, however, not the case. We conclude that virtual and video experiments can be recommended to teachers if hands-on experimentation is not possible.

How authenticity impacts validity: Developing a model of teacher education assessment and exploring the effects of the digitisation of assessment methods

Based on a literature review of studies on teachers' professional competence and related assessment tools, this paper introduces a model of teacher education assessment. It is influenced by Miller's (1990) framework of assessment in medical education and includes, among other aspects, performance assessments. This model is used to understand the potential effects of transferring assessment tools into a digital format with assessment feedback. Five examples for such a transfer will be discussed: three methods for various aspects of communication, a test for pedagogical content knowledge, and a test for content knowledge. All five are established instruments well-described in terms of validity. All five have recently been transferred into a digital format. The analysis of this transfer also reveals a potentially harmful effect of digital assessment. The closer an assessment instrument is to assessing action-related parts of professional competence, the more authenticity is required; however, digitisation tends to decrease this authenticity. This suggests that an increasing number of digital assessment tools in teacher education might result in an even more dominant focus on knowledge tests, ignoring other parts of professional competence. This article highlights the role of authenticity in validity and discusses the most suitable assessment format to address various parts of professional competence. It ends by highlighting the lessons learned from the transfer of assessment instruments into a digital format that other academic disciplines might find interesting.

Australian teachers' views on how primary science education can be improved

Teachers are crucial to bridging the theory-praxis divide in science education by utilising evidence-based teaching practices to improve outcomes for their learners. However, the perspectives of primary teachers have seldom been considered beyond the confines of specific professional development programs. This paper aims to explore Australian primary teachers' beliefs about how primary science education could be improved. A sample of 165 primary educators responded to an open-ended digital survey prompt. The results showed that teachers viewed themselves and their colleagues as central to the improvement of primary science education as evidenced by the most prominent themes of Professional Development (47.27%), Funding-Resources (37.58%), Classroom Practice (21.82%) and Personal-Teacher Improvement (21.21%). Curiously, university did not feature strongly, suggesting the participants may hold neutral views regarding the impact of universities on primary science education. The findings should serve as a catalyst for future research and engagement with primary teachers. Universities could expand their roles in building relationships with and providing accessible professional development to a group of primary teachers who, quite rightly, view themselves as key to improving primary science education.

Organizing training workshops on gene literature retrieval, profiling, and visualization for early career researchers

Early-career researchers must acquire the skills necessary to effectively search and extract information from biomedical literature. This ability is for instance crucial for evaluating the novelty of experimental results, and assessing potential publishing opportunities. Given the rapidly growing volume of publications in the field of biomedical research, new systematic approaches need to be devised and adopted for the retrieval and curation of literature relevant to a specific theme. In this context, we present a hands-on training curriculum aimed at retrieval, profiling, and visualization of literature associated with a given topic. The curriculum was implemented in a workshop in January 2021. Here we provide supporting material and step-by-step implementation guidelines with the ISG15 gene literature serving as an illustrative use case. Workshop participants can learn several skills, including: 1) building and troubleshoot PubMed queries in order to retrieve the literature associated with a gene of interest; 2) identifying key concepts relevant to given themes (such as cell types, diseases, and biological processes); 3) measuring the prevalence of these concepts in the gene literature; 4) extracting key information from relevant articles, and 5) developing a background section or summary on the basis of this information. Finally, trainees can learn to consolidate the structured information captured through this process for presentation via an interactive web application.

Examining the Metropolitan and Non-metropolitan Educational Divide: Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Teaching Practices of Australian Primary Science Educators

The provision of quality science education is a global priority beset by longstanding challenges, which can be amplified in rural and regional contexts. This creates a dual problem where stakeholders must focus on the improvement of science education outcomes whilst being cognisant of the established divided between metropolitan and non-metropolitan learners. Considering the recent positive TIMSS results which showed equitable science results for regional, remote and metropolitan Australian year 4 students, this paper aims to examine the relationship between primary teachers' school location and their science teaching efficacy beliefs and reported science teaching practices. A total of 206 Australian primary science educators responded to a cross sectional quantitative survey. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square analyses found no statistically significant differences between metropolitan and non-metropolitan teachers on measures of science teaching efficacy beliefs and reported science teaching approaches. This apparent contradiction of established research themes merits deeper school and student-focused research to understand the practical implications that could arise from these findings.

Expanding the border of science education through the lens of Buddhist mindfulness

This is a hermeneutic phenomenological study that describes and interprets Wong's, the first author lived experience in the borderlands of science and Buddhist mindfulness as a science education doctoral student in Thailand. I explore my experiences in learning with multiple mindfulness teachers, including Thich Nhat Hanh from Buddhist traditions. and Additionally, I explore the affordances of being in the borderland of science and Buddhism, and how Buddhism can expand the border of science education through the inclusion of important topics, such as mindfulness, emotional wellbeing, and interbeing. This study also examines the roadblocks that are preventing deeper integration of science and mindfulness, including empiricism, scientism, individualism, materialism, and dualism. My standpoint is that to overcome the 21st grand challenges, teachers of science need to have the courage to cross the borders of various disciplines and help students develop essential skills for cultivating a healthy, balanced, and mindful lifestyle.

Fostering engineering and science students' and teachers' systems thinking and conceptual modeling skills

As science and technology create an ecosystem that is becoming increasingly more knowledge-intensive, complex, and interconnected, the next generation science standards include systems thinking and systems modeling among 21st skills that should be fostered. We examined the effect of an online cross-disciplinary learning process on the development of systems thinking and modeling skills among engineering students and engineering and science teachers. The study, which used quantitative and qualitative tools, included 55 participants who performed four food-related learning assignments and created conceptual models in Object-Process Methodology. Their responses to online assignments were analyzed along with their perceptions, captured via a reflection questionnaire. The online learning process in this study effectively enhanced systems thinking and modeling skills of all learners, including those with no relevant background. One main conclusion that extends beyond the online learning was that imparting the basics of systems thinking and conceptual modeling skills can be achieved even within a short period of time-less than one semester. The contribution of the study is the formation of theoretical and practical frameworks for the integration of an cross-disciplinary model-based systems engineering online assignments into engineering and science curricula.

Special issue "reflecting on Freire: a praxis of radical love and critical hope for science education"-theme: transnational collaborations and solidarities: Transnational conversations about science education: Paulo Freire, interculturality and socio-political transformation

In this article I will examine some of the issues raised by the following three articles in this special issue about Paulo Freire and science education: Jenny Tilsen's "The freshness of irreverence": learning from ACT UP towards socio-political action in science education"; Suzani Cassiani and Irlan von Linsingen's "Freirean inspirations in solidary internationalism between East Timor and Brazil in science education"; and Gonzalo Peñalosa, Jairo Robles-Piñeros and Geilsa Costa Santos Baptista's "Science Education and Cultural Diversity: Freire's Concept of Dialogue as Theoretical Lens to Study the Classroom Discourse of Science Teachers". Brought together within this special issue under the theme of Transnational collaborations and solidarities, these articles explore the possibilities and tensions that emerge from thinking and practicing a Freirean-inspired science education that enables socio-political action and transformation by marginalised communities across the world. In this review, I will focus on ideas raised (to different extents) across these articles around three interrelated areas-interculturality and decoloniality, socio-political transformation, and teacher education and work-with the aim of expanding on what transnational inspirations and collaborations such as the ones promoted by this special issue can mean to those of us across the world working against the grain of marginalisation and dehumanisation (of students and teachers) from within science education.

Freirean inspirations in solidary internationalism between East Timor and Brazil in science education

The aim of this work is to reflect on the challenging trajectory of international cooperation between East Timor and Brazil, which focused on the need to rethink teacher education from a critical intercultural perspective, aiming to build emancipatory relations, love, and solidarity. From 2009 until 2016, we coordinated the Qualification of Teachers and Teaching of the Portuguese Language program in East Timor, inspired by the dialogicity of Paulo Freire, an educator well known and beloved by the Timorese people for his indirect contribution to the independence of that country. Freire's dialectic denunciation-annunciation was essential to identify the problems and propose solutions with the Timorese and not only for them. In addition, through our experiences in that country, we identified issues like those of Brazilian education as the effects of coloniality and introjections of inferiority and subordination, as well as the transnationalization of education, among other problems. Thus, the Freirean dialectic denunciation-announcement of this praxis, together with Timorese education, drove us to examine our own Brazilian territory, provoking intersectional reflections related to racism, gender and sexuality issues, and social class prejudice, among other forms of oppression. It deepened ways of acting based on critical interculturality and the concept of decolonial pedagogy, which suggested ways to fight for social justice in science education.

Supporting the Development of Science Pre-service Teachers' Creativity and Critical Thinking in Secondary Science Initial Teacher Education

Creative and critical thinking (C&CT) capabilities are essential qualities of future ready scientific literate citizens. As teacher educators, developing C&CT in science pre-service teachers (PSTs) requires supporting PSTs' development of C&CT, in addition to supporting their understanding and capacity to teach for development of C&CT in their future school science students. In this study, four secondary science educators critically reflected on the development of our professional knowledge and practice for supporting secondary science PSTs' understanding of, and capacity to teach, C&CT as future teachers of science. Meeting transcripts, reflective journaling and curriculum documents were inductively analysed for key themes, utilising an iterative approach with multiple cycles of review. Findings showed that integrating C&CT in explicit ways in our teaching and assessment tasks was not as straight-forward as initially imagined. Three themes were identified, showing how our thinking evolved, namely (1) becoming sensitised to C&CT in our science ITE practice; (2) developing a shared language and understanding for science education; and (3) illuminating the conditions for teaching C&CT. A recurring feature in all themes was the value of tensions for sensitising us to specific aspects of C&CT and its teaching. We offer recommendations for others seeking to develop science PSTs' C&CT.

The Seeing Science Project: Using Design-Based Research to Develop a Transformative Experience Intervention

Drawing on transformative experience theory (Pugh, 2011) and in collaboration with high school science teachers, the authors developed an intervention (Seeing Science project) leveraging everyday mobile technology as a tool for integrating in-school and out-of-school experience. Students were instructed to take pictures when they noticed connections to unit content and post these with a caption on a class site. The current study used design-based research methods to revise and evaluate the Seeing Science project over a 2-year period. Revisions to the project were informed by year one data and principles of the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science (TTES) instructional model. Data sources included project artifacts, student interviews, and teacher interviews. Revisions to the project resulted in higher quality posts in pre-AP biology classes and greater participation in regular biology classes. Furthermore, an analysis of posts, classroom observations, and student interviews revealed that the project helped some students connect in-school learning to out-of-school experience and undergo transformative experiences. The current study contributes to transformative experience theory by identifying and developing strategies for fostering transformative experiences. These strategies further inform the TTES model and may support depth of learning and career identification.

Effects of reading contextualized physics problems among men and women: A psychophysiological approach

To counteract declining interest in science, contextualizing course material has been suggested, despite little evidence supporting this strategy. We assessed how reading physics problems in different contexts-none, technical, or humanistic-impacted performance and implicit cognitive and affective situational interest (SI) among undergraduate men and women (n = 60). We hypothesized that contextualized problems would increase cognitive SI, boosting performance. We also investigated existing hypotheses that this influence would be stronger when contexts matched stereotypical gender interests. Pupillometric and electroencephalographic data served to indicate cognitive SI, while electrodermal activity (EDA) and valence were measures of affective SI. Significantly higher valence was observed in decontextualized than humanistic problems (p = 0.003) specifically among men (p < 0.001). Greater EDA (p = 0.019) and decontextualized problems (p < 0.001) yielded greater performance than contextualized problems for all participants. Results emphasize the importance of affective SI and of avoiding gender biases in curricular development. This study encourages caution if implementing contextualization.

"The freshness of irreverence": learning from ACT UP toward sociopolitical action in science education

This article explores ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) through a Freirean lens of critical consciousness, dialogue, and transformation. The purpose is to draw from where there have been processes of engagement of sociopolitical action in science and how these spaces can become meaningful entry points to take toward making a "sociopolitical turn" in science education, as well as in science more broadly. Current practices in science education do not adequately prepare educators and students to challenge and interrupt injustices that we are emersed in. ACT UP is a well-studied example of when non-specialists engaged with science and scientific knowledge making to shift power and policy. Paulo Freire's pedagogy was developed alongside social movements. By examining ACT UP through a Freirean lens, I explore themes of relationality, social epistemology, consensus, and dissensus that emerged when a social movement engaged with science to achieve its goal. My intent is to add to the ongoing dialogues of approaching science education as a practice of critical consciousness and liberatory world making.

Predicting Preservice Science Teachers' TPACK through ICT usage

Designing effective and efficient learning environments by integrating recent educational technologies into the teaching process has become an important goal of education for nearly two decades. However, earlier studies showed that a higher level of technology knowledge does not guarantee the development of TPACK. At this point, studies guided by the transformative approach defining TPACK as a unique knowledge revealed encouraging results for a better understanding of technology-integrated instruction. This study aims to investigate to what extent ICT usage categories predict preservice science teachers' TPACK. Totally 326 preservice science teachers with a mean age of 21.62 (SD = 1.41) from seven different universities participated. For that purpose, a correlational study was conducted. The ICT-TPACK-Science Scale and the ICT Usage Questionnaire were used to collect data. Six separate multiple regression analyses were conducted to predict TPACK measures using ICT measures. Results indicated that approximately a third of the variability in total-TPACK scores can be accounted for by three ICT measures. The relative importance of individual predictors is arranged in the following order desktop software, emerging ICTs, and hardware. As for the dimensions of the ICT-TPACK-Science Scale, the overall effect of the ICT predictors decreased in the following order: Designing, implementing, planning, proficiency, and ethics. Emerging ICTs made the highest contribution to the designing and proficiency dimensions; while desktop software made the highest contribution to the implementing, planning, and ethics dimensions. To sum up, this study describes the association between ICT usage and TPACK in the view of the transformative ICT-TPACK-Science framework. The utilization and transformation of ICT tools as a cognitive partner for effective and efficient science teaching in different TPACK dimensions needs further investigation.

Health in Our Hands: diabetes and substance use education through a new genomic framework for schools and communities

From May 2014 through June 2019, educational, health, and academic partners under an NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) engaged 1271 6th through 8th grade students and their families in the "A New Genomic Framework for Schools and Communities" program. Evaluation addressed the effectiveness of the Health in Our Hands genomics curriculum, which employed Next Generation Science Standards and community action research projects to target two common, complex conditions-type 2 diabetes and substance use disorder (SUD)-in the underserved cities of Flint and Detroit, MI, USA. Curriculum outcomes were measured with classroom surveys, presentation event questionnaires, and adult interviews using mixed qualitative/quantitative (SPSS V. 25.0) methods involving generalized linear mixed modeling-based ANOVA. The diabetes unit enactment registered a 12% pre- /post-gain among students in perceived learning about genes and the environment. Both diabetes and SUD units showed statistically significant gains in perceived learning about health and health conditions and the importance of what students were learning to everyday life. A total of 73.4% of fall 2018 SUD event participants indicated increased awareness of educational and career choices in science. Moderate gains were noted during the diabetes curriculum in students sharing what they learned with friends and family. 9/11 parents and 5/9 community members attending the student presentation event had discussed diabetes with a student. Linked formal classroom and informal community-connected approaches can successfully be used to teach genomics and promote project-based learning in students, family, and community members. Further efforts are needed to effectively engage families.

An investigation on alternative ideas on thermal phenomena of pupils with and without learning difficulties

In the last decades, constructivism has dominated Early Childhood Science Education. Within this context, alternative ideas of pre-school pupils have been thoroughly explored and analyzed. Nevertheless, research on these ideas in individuals with learning difficulties remains scarce. Aiming to fill this gap, the present study explores alternative ideas on thermal phenomena of pupils with learning difficulties and compare them with those without learning difficulties. For this purpose, an experimental investigation was conducted with 25 pupils with learning difficulties (M = 72,50 months, s.d. = 8,11) and 25 pupils without learning difficulties (M = 72,50 months, s.d. = 9,50). Drawing from constructivist theory, a structured, computerized tool (A.I.H.E.T) was developed to fulfill research's goal. Findings suggest that pupils with and without learning difficulties use almost the same ideas on thermal phenomena, on a different frequency though. The results support further the findings of other research, according to which inclusive science education not only is feasible but also it has great benefits for students with and without learning difficulties.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43545-022-00603-5.

Equity in teaching science during times of crisis: a study with Portuguese science teachers

This work aims to examine how science teachers ensured equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants are six science teachers who were teaching in different middle schools within the Lisbon district. Their classes were heterogeneous, with students from different socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities, and with diverse levels of motivation to learn science and in their academic performance in science. Data were collected through written reflections and interviews. In a crisis context such as COVID-19, which affected schools worldwide, the study contributes to deepening our knowledge about equity during crisis, presenting several measures taken by teachers to deal with the pandemic. Teachers gave instructions to their students to attend classes through public television, which was accessible to the entire population, and developed complementary materials on it. Also, they created moments of individualized support to face situations of inequity, using distance learning platforms or other means of communication. Teachers built and implemented activities that value hands-on and problem solving, enabling their students to achieve academic success. We believe this paper allows the science education community to reflect on possibilities to ensure equity in the context of unpredictable crises.

Connecting the Dots Among Science, Education, and STEM

Makerspaces, Innovation and Science Education: How, Why, and What For? is an attempt to interrogate questions about the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and schooling that have long troubled science educators. In crafting the book, the author, Michael Tan, uses the microcosm of makerspaces to move back and forth to interrogate questions about the nature of knowledge, nature of science, nature of pedagogy, and nature of schooling best suited for the times we live in. In the seven chapters that comprise the book, the author has worked out a consistent framework to answer these questions. This framework represents a strong academic opinion that is thought provoking.

Science teachers' interactions with resources for formative assessment purposes

Using a case-study approach, we aim to understand how teachers interact with both analogue and digital resources in the science classroom for formative assessment (FA) purposes and their justifications for such interactions. The study was conducted in the context of a European Union project on FA in science and mathematics education. The case involved two Norwegian primary school teachers teaching their grades 5 and 7 students a series of science lessons on the topic "how to prevent microorganisms from spreading." The data set consisted of lesson plans, classroom observations, pre- and post-interviews conducted with teachers, student tasks, post-interviews with students, and student work. We identified eight analogue and digital resources, which were used to employ five FA strategies. The strategies that were most commonly used related to "engineering effective classroom discussions" that elicited evidence of student understanding and "activating students" as autonomous learners and peer instructors. The teachers' rationales for using the selected resources were mainly connected to their effectiveness, practicality, and relevance. Teacher interactions with the selected resources are described, and educational implications are discussed.

Examining Science and Technology/Engineering Educators' Views of Teaching Biomedical Concepts Through Physical Computing

Programming and automation continue to evolve rapidly and advance the capabilities of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, physical computing (the integration of programming and interactive physical devices) integrated within biomedical contexts remains an area of limited focus in secondary STEM education programs. As this is an emerging area, many educators may not be well prepared to teach physical computing concepts within authentic biomedical contexts. This shortcoming provided the rationale for this study, to examine if professional development (PD) had a noticeable influence on high school science and technology and engineering (T&E) teachers' (1) perceptions of teaching biomedical and computational thinking (CT) concepts and (2) plans to integrate physical computing within the context of authentic biomedical engineering challenges. The findings revealed a significant difference in the amount of biomedical and CT concepts that teachers planned to implement as a result of the PD. Using a modified version of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-A) Riggs and Enochs in Science Education, 74(6), 625-637 (1990), analyses revealed significant gains in teachers' self-efficacy toward teaching both biomedical and CT concepts from the PD. Further analyses revealed that teachers reported increases in their perceived knowledge of biomedical and CT concepts and a significant increase in their intent to collaborate with a science or T&E educator outside of their content area. This study provides implications for researchers and educators to integrate more biomedical and physical computing instruction at the secondary education level.

Examining the influence that safety training format has on educators' perceptions of safer practices in makerspaces and integrated STEM labs

INTRODUCTION

The rising popularity of makerspaces and integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education labs has increased the safety/health hazards and resulting potential risks that schools, libraries, community centers, and educators must be prepared to address. Previous studies have demonstrated that adequate safety training can enhance educators' safety perceptions and reduce accident rates.

METHOD

Safety training was conducted in three different U.S. states for 48 educators working in K-12 STEM areas. Differences in the mode of delivery, length of the training, and types of hands-on activities instituted at each training site were examined in relation to the level of influence these factors had on educators' safety perceptions. A modified version of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) was used, which had previously been adapted for similar safety studies and showed strong reliability measures.

RESULTS

The pre- and post-survey responses revealed that educators at the fully online and shortest training session did not experience significant changes in their safety perceptions. However, participants at the two face-to-face sites demonstrated significant gains in their safety perceptions. Most notably, the site that offered the longest training and integrated the most hands-on lab activities recorded the greatest gains. Additionally, correlational analyses corroborated that as the amount of hands-on activities and length of the trainings increased, there was a positive significant association with changes in educators' safety perceptions.

CONCLUSIONS

This research helps bridge the gap between industry and K-12 STEM education research regarding better safety training practices. The findings from this study can help promote safer teaching and learning environments, while also reducing liability and the chance of a serious accident.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

State departments, higher education institutions, teacher education programs, school districts, and others providing STEM safety training to K-12 educators should utilize this research to reexamine their safety training policies and practices.

The Construction of Civil Scientific Literacy in China from the Perspective of Science Education

On 25 June 2021, the State Council issued the new Outline of the National Action Scheme for Scientific Literacy for All Chinese Citizens (2020-2035) (Outline of Scientific Literacy). In order to provide reference for its implementation, this study analyzes the achievements and obstacles in the implementation of the old Outline of Scientific Literacy (2006-2010-2020) based on the results of all previous surveys on civic scientific literacy (CSL) in China and from the perspective of science education. The results showed a continued steady growth in CSL, from 1.6 in 2005 to 10.56% in 2020. Specifically, male, urban, and younger adults were more likely to qualify as possessing CSL. Moreover, education level was found to be positively related to CSL. The study also found that in China, the effectiveness of formal science education has been hampered by the long-term division of the arts and sciences, examination-oriented education, the urban-rural gap, and the aging population. In terms of informal education, 37.2% of Chinese citizens visited science museums in 2020, and the Internet plays an increasing important role. Nowadays, Chinese science popularization lacks interaction, with limited opportunities for public engagement. There are deficiencies in both the country's formal and informal science education, meaning that there is still much room for improvement in the promotion of CSL in China.

A Reflection on Reimagining Education: Inspiration, Innovation and Thriving in a Changing World

In this commentary, I reflect on the state of science and science education in a changing world. Drawing on my experiences and as someone who worked with CJSTME at the inception of the journal, to my return in the role of science editor, and on a UNESCO report - I comment on the inequities present in science education.

Spain is not different: teaching quantitative courses can also be hazardous to one's career (at least in undergraduate courses)

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) have become a widely used tool for assessing teaching in higher education. However, numerous investigations have shown that SETs are subject to multiple biases, one of which is particularly relevant, namely, the area of knowledge to which the subject belongs. This article aims to replicate the article by Uttl & Smibert (2017, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3299) in a different educational context to verify whether the negative bias toward instructors who teach quantitative courses found by the authors in the US also appears in the Spanish university system. The study was conducted at the Business and Law School of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, a private Spanish university, using two different samples. First, we analyzed undergraduate courses using a sample of 80,667 SETs in which 2,885 classes (defined as a single semester-long course taught by an individual instructor to a specific group of students), 488 instructors, and 322 different courses were evaluated over a time period of four academic years (2016/2017-2019/2020). Second, in the same period, 16,083 SETs corresponding to master's degree courses were analyzed, which involved the study of 871 classes, 275 instructors, and 155 different courses. All the data included in the analysis were obtained from official university surveys developed by a team of professionals specialized in teaching quality responsible for ensuring the reliability of the information. At the degree level, the results show that despite the considerable cultural and temporal difference between the samples, the results are very similar to those obtained by Uttl & Smibert (2017, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3299); i.e., professors teaching quantitative courses are far more likely to obtain worse SETs than instructors in other areas. There are hardly any differences at the master's degree level, regardless of whether nearly 75% of master's degree instructors also teach at the undergraduate level. This leads us to three different conclusions. (1) Evidence suggests that the reason for these differences is not due to faculty teaching quantitative courses being less effective than faculty teaching in some other fields. Our results indicate that the same instructor is evaluated very differently depending on whether he or she teaches at the undergraduate or master's level. (2) It is essential to avoid comparisons of SETs between different areas of knowledge, at least at the undergraduate level. (3) A significant change in the use and interpretation of SETs is imperative, or its replacement by other evaluation mechanisms should be considered. If this does not occur, it is possible that in the future, there will be an adverse selection effect among professors of quantitative methods; i.e., only the worst professionals in quantitative methods will opt for teaching since the good professionals will prefer other jobs.

Algorithmic Explanations: an Unplugged Instructional Approach to Integrate Science and Computational Thinking

Computing has become essential in modern-day problem-solving, making computational literacy necessary for practicing scientists and engineers. However, K-12 science education has not reflected this computational shift. Integrating computational thinking (CT) into core science courses is an avenue that can build computational literacies in all students. Integrating CT and science involves using computational tools and methods (including programming) to understand scientific phenomena and solve science-based problems. Integrating CT and science is gaining traction, but widespread implementation is still quite limited. Several barriers have limited the integration and implementation of CT in K-12 science education. Most teachers lack experience with computer science, computing, programming, and CT and therefore are ill-prepared to integrate CT into science courses, leading to low self-efficacy and low confidence in integrating CT. This theoretical paper introduces a novel instructional approach for integrating disciplinary science education with CT using unplugged (computer-free) activities. We have grounded our approach in common computational thinking in STEM frameworks but translate this work into an accessible pedagogical strategy. We begin with an overview and critique of current approaches that integrate CT and science. Next, we introduce the Computational Thinking through Algorithmic Explanations (CT-AE) instructional approach. We then explain how CT-AE is informed by constructionist writing-to-learn science theory. Based on a pilot implementation with student learning outcomes, we discuss connections to existing literature and future directions.

Expanding the field: using digital to diversify learning in outdoor science

This is an empirical study of teacher experiences with school learners (7-18 years) engaging in cross-curricular environmental science during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on #FieldworkLive, a programme of live-streamed outdoor science lessons produced by the Field Studies Council and Encounter Edu during the UK lockdown (April - May 2020). The experiences of approximately 377,000 teachers and students from 32 countries were captured using an online survey and direct staff consultation. This delivery method allowed us to reach untapped audiences and to provide learners with a virtual fieldwork experience during the constraints of lockdown. Teachers were highly positive about the technology-enhanced learning which provided them with novel perspectives and approaches for the classroom. We propose a model for the affordances provided by this delivery approach based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. The Field Studies Council has developed a flexible package of multimedia resources for secondary schools as a route to enriching outdoor experience and learning despite the constraints imposed by the pandemic.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43031-022-00047-0.

Is HPS a valuable component of a STEM education? An empirical study of student interest in HPS courses within an undergraduate science curriculum

This paper presents the results of a survey of students majoring in STEM fields whose education contained a significant history, philosophy and sociology (HPS) of science component. The survey was administered to students in a North American public 4-year university just prior to completing their HPS sequence. The survey assessed students' attitudes towards HPS to gauge how those attitudes changed over the course of their college careers, and to identify the benefits and obstacles to studying HPS as a component of their STEM education. The survey reveals that students generally found unexpected value in taking HPS within their STEM curriculum. It also reveals that framing HPS courses as a means of gaining communication skills necessary to be an influential scientist seems to resonate with students. However, students also identified several factors limiting engagement with HPS content, including the length and density of required readings and assessment via essays and papers.

A Trial Patch to Sustainable Development: Perspectives from Extracurricular Activities of Elementary Schools in Turkey

Sustainable development (SD) and science education have become interwoven categorical issues under the name of science education for sustainable development (SESD). Education can play a crucial role in merging the dimensions of SD as ecology, economy, and energy, along with society in a united holistic goal. Furthermore, it can provide the necessary motivation and self-fulfillment for individuals and communities. Extracurricular activities should also be implemented along with formal ones in courses that are related to socio-scientific issues like SD. In line with this perspective, this study mainly aims to find new means of developing an extracurricular module program based on the principles of SD, in order to address the defects, deficiencies, and needs in science education around the world. The module program was constructed through use of the concepts of energy transformations, biodiversity, and narrating socio-scientific problems that would foster positive student decision-making on SD issues. The study also aims to examine whether the SESD module program would have a significant effect on the academic success and opinions regarding SD of primary school students in science lessons. The study sample comprised 92 Turkish fifth-grade students. Mixed methods using both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Data analysis revealed that the SESD module program significantly affected fifth-grade students in terms of their knowledge and opinions for increased willingness to take action and responsibility.

Science Fiction as an Instructional Strategy: Foundations, Procedures, and Results for Pre-service Teachers

Science fiction (SF) combines realistic and imaginary elements of science and technology and develops students' imagination, creativity, and interest in science. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine SF stories written by pre-service science teachers (PSTs) in terms of various textual and science variables. The case study of SF story writing aimed to develop a theoretical framework to analyze how narrative elements, plot structure, agency, the nature of science content, characteristics of the SF genre, and ethics in scientific research are included in the stories of a group of Turkish PSTs. The participants of the study were 58 pre-service teachers enrolled in the science education department at a public university in Turkey. Working in groups, they wrote 13 different SF stories. The stories were analyzed with a rubric including two parts: narrative and other story elements and the characteristics of the SF genre. The results showed that the stories included fictional and realistic features of science and technology, scientific concepts, and details about scientific realities. The stories addressed the social and cultural embeddedness of scientific knowledge and details about the scientific method. However, the originality is limited in many stories as they had traces from popular movies, books, and TV series. The stories did consider a range of ethical issues, including unauthorized experimentation and manipulating scientific information for personal, political, and financial interests. The current study could contribute to the literature about the use and assessment of SF stories in science education.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10763-021-10244-4.

Teaching What Is "Real" About Science: Critical Realism as a Framework for Science Education

Discourse about public perception of science is often positioned as a dichotomy between trust in scientific evidence and scientists as experts, versus critiques of the limitations of scientific knowledge and a mistrust in scientists as biased professionals and political agents. However, this dichotomy becomes something of a false argument, as our tendency to look for the "right" answer in these arguments often gets in the way of finding a balancing point in which both of these positions could be held in productive tension. The purpose of the present article is to lay out the argument that society can both trust in scientific evidence and question scientific bias in the same space, holding these two seemingly opposite positions in productive tension, and that we should teach students to do the same. Critical realism is presented as an ontology and epistemology to frame science education, and focus on the development of critical scientific literacy by teaching students what is real and what is arbitrary about science. Recommendations for science education are outlined, grounded in critical realism and connected to current education research and principles of the nature of science.

Causal theory error in college students' understanding of science studies

When reasoning about science studies, people often make causal theory errors by inferring or accepting a causal claim based on correlational evidence. While humans naturally think in terms of causal relationships, reasoning about science findings requires understanding how evidence supports—or fails to support—a causal claim. This study investigated college students’ thinking about causal claims presented in brief media reports describing behavioral science findings. How do science students reason about causal claims from correlational evidence? And can their reasoning be improved through instruction clarifying the nature of causal theory error? We examined these questions through a series of written reasoning exercises given to advanced college students over three weeks within a psychology methods course. In a pretest session, students critiqued study quality and support for a causal claim from a brief media report  suggesting an association between two variables. Then, they created diagrams depicting possible alternative causal theories. At the beginning of the second session, an instructional intervention introduced students to an extended example of a causal theory error through guided questions about possible alternative causes. Then, they completed the same two tasks with new science reports immediately and again 1 week later. The results show students’ reasoning included fewer causal theory errors after the intervention, and this improvement was maintained a week later. Our findings suggest that interventions aimed at addressing reasoning about causal claims in correlational studies are needed even for advanced science students, and that training on considering alternative causal theories may be successful in reducing casual theory error.

Exploring Adolescents' Critical Reading of Socioscientific Topics Using Multimodal Texts

This qualitative within-individual case design study involved six adolescents (age 10-14 years) engaging in a think-aloud observational protocol to read two texts on climate change from contrasting viewpoints. The participants completed a prior knowledge assessment and survey of technology used to assess potential mediating factors. Survey and observational data are presented as participant profiles. Results illustrated the effect of participants' background knowledge, emotional elicitation of text features, cognitive dissonance argument analysis due to the contrasting multimodal texts, and impact of visual images on participants' comprehension. Our data analyses revealed that there is an interconnected and nuanced relationship amongst many text and individual factors when adolescents engage in critical reading of SSI multimodal texts. This research provides direction for future science education research that support learners in critical reading of complex socioscientific topics as presented in multimodal texts with adolescent learners.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10763-022-10280-8.

Learning about the nature of science through the critical and reflective reading of news on the COVID-19 pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to a plethora of information published in the media. Conceived as a socioscientific issue of great relevance currently, this article highlight the educational potential of some media news about the pandemic to reflect and learn about the nature of science (NOS). To this end, a theoretical foundation is first presented regarding the reading of science news published in the media as an educational resource to learn about NOS. Secondly, a proposal is presented on how this might be addressed in the science classroom. The proposal is illustrated by four news items, intentionally selected as examples, which have been published in the Spanish digital press. The aspects of NOS that are discussed in the context of the news items selected are: tentativeness of scientific knowledge, role of error in scientific research, role of debate in the development of science, importance of models and modelling in scientific research, and ethics in science.

A critical perspective on pandemics and epidemics: building a bridge between public health and science education

This academic position paper focuses on building a bridge between public health and science education in order to recognize the relationships between science and society-politics, economics, and ideology-in a pandemic context. To do this, we first present the contemporary dispute between the ways of understanding and explaining public health problems in light of a historical-territorial critical perspective; then, we show the configuration process of the formal and hegemonic concept of pandemic that has taken place over the period of the pandemics of the 1918 flu and the 2019 coronavirus disease; later, we give way to a historical-territorial understanding of the genesis of the 2002 and 2012 epidemics in relation to the coronavirus in the twenty-first century; and lastly, we indicate the key points from the historical-territorial critical perspective of public health that science education can use in order to contribute to a critical and reflective understanding of epidemics and pandemics. In this framework, "configuration process" is a category we propose and use in order to explain that specific events such as epidemics and pandemics are interwoven in a social, historical-territorial, trajectory of world power relations.

Science teacher's perceptions of the nature of technology: a Q-methodology study

The aim of the current study was to explore science teachers' perceptions of the nature of technology through the use of Q methodology. 17 science teachers were sampled as participants, and to explore their perceptions of the nature of technology, they ranked a Q-sort of 36 statements that constituted the following six categories: (i) definition of technology, (ii) the relationship between science and technology, (iii) the impact of society on technology, (iv) the impact of technology on society, (v) the impact of technology on environment, and (vi) the impact of technology on economy. As the participants completed their Q-sort, they were interviewed. Analysis of the participants' Q-sorts resulted in a three-factor solution, i.e. three distinct patterns of perception about the nature of technology. The three perspectives included teachers who are (i) equally aware of the benefits and drawbacks of technology and the relation of it to science, (ii) optimist about technology and aware of its dependence on society, and (iii) optimist about technological innovations but tempered by technology-driven environmental and social issues. Findings indicated gender and years of professional experience as potential determiners within these perspectives, which needs further research.

Hard-rooted to nature: rediscovering the forgotten forest in science education

Learners are more disconnected from the natural environment than ever before. Science education occurs predominantly in classrooms and laboratories, settings that rationalize and deconstruct the natural world in a Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm. This often negates humans' relationality and interdependence with other life phenomena and furthermore negates nonhuman agency. I examine the alienation from the natural world in a screen-dominated society, review ecopsychology studies that show the effect of nature on human mental and physiological health, and address the limitations of anthropocentric arguments for reconnecting students with nature. Examples of learning about microbes in a biology laboratory, and the importance of what I call wild fascination, as methods to reconnect with our "forgotten forest" are discussed. Finally, I argue that environmental outdoor education is not only vital to foster an ecocentric ethic, but that it is a necessity for ensuring a sustainable future for the biotic community.

The quest for sustainable futures: designing transformative learning spaces with multilingual Black, Brown, and Latinx young people through critical response-ability

In an era of global climate change, intertwined with social and ecological predation, there is growing recognition of the importance of building socially, environmentally, culturally pluralistic, just and sustainable futures. Yet many of the calls for reform and discourses around sustainability are authored and defined through top-down approaches, by those who have power, privilege, and cognitive authority, and excludes the voices, identities, and epistemologies of those in the margins. In this paper we argue for the need to design and develop transformative learning ecologies that explicitly position the diverse voices of youth from nondominant communities as central to re-defining and re-envisioning relationally just, pluralistic, and sustainable futures. To this end, we seek to provide examples from participatory design-based learning ecologies to illustrate the centering of middle school youth voices and agencies from multilingual Black, Brown, and Latinx communities through critical response-ability. These examples highlight how these youth grapple with the uncertain landscapes of sustainability in their communities and provide counter-narratives to traditional deficit-based discourses and youth empowerment. We draw on what we have learned from multilingual youth to offer some suggestions for designing transformative learning ecologies situated within the framework of critical-response-ability in the quest for sustainable, thriving, and just futures.

Exploring Differences in Student Learning and Behavior Between Real-life and Virtual Reality Chemistry Laboratories

Recent global events and educational trends have led schools to heavily rely on digital media to educate their students. Science classes, in particular, stand to lose substantial learning opportunities without the ability to provide physical laboratory experiences. Virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to resolve this issue, but little is known if VR environments can produce similar results to real-life (RL) science learning environments. This 2 × 1, between-subjects study compares students' learning results and safety behaviors in VR and RL chemistry laboratories. The study attempts to identify differences in learning experience (i.e., general chemistry content, experiment comprehension, laboratory safety knowledge) and laboratory safety behavior. Results indicate learning general content knowledge, laboratory skills, and procedure-related safety behaviors were comparable between RL and VR conditions, but clean-up behaviors were less frequent in VR. Also, the exploratory, risk-free nature of VR environments may have allowed the learners to elaborate and reflect more on general chemistry content and laboratory safety knowledge than in the RL environment.

CHEST Watch: A High School Outreach Program

As the US population ages, health care workforce shortages are projected in surgery, medicine, and nursing. We describe an outreach program aimed at exposing high school students to health care as a career choice while emphasizing science courses and prevention of tobacco use. High school students were invited to participate in CHEST Watch, a structured educational program based on thoracic pathology. Before students attended the program, parental consent was collected. Students engaged in a discussion with multiple professionals (physicians, nurses, smoking cessation counselors, social workers, basic science researchers) who presented their personal motivation and information about the corresponding career. Participants then observed a lung cancer surgery. A strong anti-tobacco message was emphasized throughout. Before and after the event, the participants completed anonymous opinion surveys which queried their interest in science, health care careers, and tobacco use. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was used for trend analysis. A total of 4400 students from 84 schools attended CHEST Watch over 15 years. A significant increase in the students' interest in health care careers and science courses (P-value 0.0001) and a significant decrease in tobacco use interest (P-value 0.0001) were observed. Overall, feedback was strongly positive and very popular within the school systems. The CHEST Watch program is an innovative approach intended to recruit youth into health care careers to address projected future shortages in the workforce. Furthermore, the participants' experience resulted in an increasingly positive attitude towards personal health and a decreased interest in use of tobacco products.

Ecology and colour in 1m2: a contemplative, place-based study

This essay argues the importance of interdisciplinary, contemplative, place-based pedagogy. The Ecology and Colour in 1m² study has students from the sciences and the arts observe a small quadrat in their local community over several weeks, engaging in both scientific and creative expression. The connection to Aldo Leopold's teaching principles and its relevance during our current screen fatigue pandemic and increasing disconnection from the natural world are outlined. We review contemplative practice in relation to education, such as sit spots or "site-specific" learning. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the Ecology and Colour in 1m² study and aligned with Leopold's emphasis on fostering a personal connection with nature, our paper also includes three narratives and examples of student reflections and visual artwork created during this project.

Sustainability science education: our animalistic response-ability

In this paper, we craft a dialogue between "The Anthropocene as we know it: posthumanism, science education and scientific literacy as a path to sustainability," by Sophia Jeong, Brandon Sherman, and Deborah Tippins and, "The quest for sustainable futures: designing transformative spaces for youth through critical response-ability," by Shakhnoza Kayumova and Deborah Tippins. We argue for an optimistic approach to post-Anthropocene science education that acknowledges humans as the animals we are, albeit with a more sophisticated understanding of our place in the world. It is this understanding that gives us both responsibility and a response-ability to our human and non-human actors within our earthly entanglement. To do this requires reimagining science classrooms as locations of opportunity where students develop agential literacy. These classrooms provide an environment that allow students to develop their skills as sustainability engineers. We advocate for embracing indigenous ways of knowing, opening locations of possibilities through policy reform, fostering an integrated model of STEM education, and re-imagining teacher education to promote and move toward equitable science education.

Chatbot application in a 5th grade science course

This study aims to investigate the effect of chatbots that work with artificial intelligence on the success of students and their opinions about chatbots in the 'Matter and the changing state of matter' unit in the 5th grade science course. In addition to text-based functions, the designed chatbot includes a video accessed on the web to support students visually and aurally. The chatbot was designed using the Dialogflow program and an instant messaging program made available to students through a group created on Telegram. The study, which used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, included 41 participants (n = 20 for the experimental, n = 21 for the control group) studying in the 5th grade of a state secondary school in the 2020-2021 academic year. Results suggest that although there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of academic achievement, it was determined that the chatbot application positively affected the online learning experience of the experimental group students. Students' opinions about the chatbot included that it was useful and fun, they would like to use it for other courses, it provided useful assistance in learning outside the classroom, and it allowed them to repeat the course again. The results showed that, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, such applications could contribute positively to students' learning.

Step by step towards citizen science - deconstructing youth participation in BioBlitzes

BioBlitzes, typically one-day citizen science (CS) events, provide opportunities for the public to participate in data collection for research and conservation, potentially promoting deeper engagement with science. We observed 81 youth at 15 BioBlitzes in the U.S. and U.K., identifying five steps participants use to create a biological record (Exploring, Observing, Identifying, Documenting and Recording). We found 67 youth engaged in at least one of the steps, but seldom in all, with rare participation in Recording which is crucial for contributing data to CS. These findings suggest BioBlitzes should reduce barriers to Recording for youth to increase engagement with science.

A new framework for teaching scientific reasoning to students from application-oriented sciences

About three decades ago, the late Ronald Giere introduced a new framework for teaching scientific reasoning to science students. Giere's framework presents a model-based alternative to the traditional statement approach-in which scientific inferences are reconstructed as explicit arguments, composed of (single-sentence) premises and a conclusion. Subsequent research in science education has shown that model-based approaches are particularly effective in teaching science students how to understand and evaluate scientific reasoning. One limitation of Giere's framework, however, is that it covers only one type of scientific reasoning, namely the reasoning deployed in hypothesis-driven research practices. In this paper, we describe an extension of the framework. More specifically, we develop an additional model-based scheme that captures reasoning in application-oriented practices (which are very well represented in contemporary science). Our own teaching experience suggests that this extended framework is able to engage a wider audience than Giere's original. With an eye on going beyond such anecdotal evidence, we invite our readers to test out the framework in their own teaching.

Challenges of 20th century Ethiopian Science education

State-led secular education was introduced to Ethiopia by the second half of 1900s. Some studies have looked into the development the secular education system. But the historical development of science education system was not explored. This review looked into the initiatives, achievements, and challenges in introducing and advancing science education in the 20^th century. For this purpose, research reports, books, official government documents, and other relevant literature, and instructional materials released before mid 2000 were explored. Accounts of several researchers and official documents demonstrated that the various initiatives by the four subsequent regimes of Ethiopia to build relevant and quality science education system did not come up with expected results. By the dawn of the 21^st century, the country was struggling to build relevant and quality science education system. Hence, this article is prepared and presented to demonstrate the critical historical challenges in putting relevant and quality science education system in place and assist policy-makers and practitioners in formulating better policy directions and developing workable science education programs and projects.

The Attitudes of Tongan Senior Secondary Students Toward Science

As with other Pacific Island nations, the scientific efforts of the Kingdom of Tonga have been hampered through a lack of local scientists and science graduates. As observed globally, the region appears to face a steady decline in student interest and achievement in science, resulting in reduced uptake of science subjects in schools and universities. This study aims to provide insight into the attitudes of Tongan senior secondary students toward science, using the validated Test of Scientific Related Attitudes (TOSRA) instrument. The sample population comprised 2636 students of approximately 15-18 years of age, from 26 schools across Tonga. Overall, the mean attitudes of Tongan senior secondary students toward science were lower than that previously observed for Australian secondary students (Grades 7-10) and Fijian senior secondary students. A significant reduction in attitude was found between forms 5 and 6 for female students from rural areas, but not those from urban areas. No significant changes across different form levels were found for male students. The greatest difference between students' perspectives was found for the normality of scientists, which may be indicative of cultural views toward this topic. Combined with the similar results of previous research in Fijian students, this may point toward broader differences in the attitudes toward science between students in Pacific Island countries more generally.

Widening the divide: the impact of school closures on primary science learning

Prolonged Covid-19-related school closures in the UK raised concerns that science teaching and learning at primary level would be negatively impacted. This paper reports the findings of phase 1 of a study that the authors are conducting with teachers and parents to explore this issue. We found that a significant proportion of teachers were providing less science during lockdown than in the normal school week. Teachers, particularly those working in more deprived areas, reported that translating the science curriculum for home learning had been difficult, with concerns around resources, internet access and parental ability to help. Some areas of the curriculum posed particular difficulties, leading to a narrowing of topics being taught. Both teachers and parents felt that schools prioritised English and maths above science. Meanwhile some parents reported that their children had engaged in sophisticated extracurricular activities, bolstered by resources available at home and knowledgeable adult help, but others said that their children had done no science at all. Parents who had studied science at post-compulsory level were much more comfortable in helping their children with science home learning. These factors combine to create conditions which may exacerbate existing inequalities as to who can access science education and careers.