Science, Technology, and Society: A Sourcebook on Research and Practice

David D. Kumar, Daryl E. Chubin

Springer Science & Business Media, Apr 30, 2000 - Education - 308 pages

David D. Kumar and Daryl E. Chubin We live in an information age. Technology abounds: information tech nology, communication technology, learning technology. As a once popular song went, "Something's happening here, but it's just not exactly clear." The world appears to be a smaller, less remote place. We live in it, but we are not necessarily closely tied to it. We lack a satisfactory understanding of it. So we are left with a paradox: In an information age, information alone will neither inform nor improve us as citizens nor our democracy, society, or in stitutions. No, improvement will take some effort. It is a heavy burden to be reflective, indeed analytical, and disciplined but only constructively constrained by different perspectives. The science-based technology that makes for the complexity, contro versy, and uncertainty of life sows the seeds of understanding in Science, Technology, and Society. STS, as it is known, encompasses a hybrid area of scholarship now nearly three decades old. As D. R. Sarewitz,a former geologist now congressional staffer and an author, put it After all, the important and often controversial policy dilemmas posed by issues such as nuclear energy, toxic waste disposal, global climate change, or biotech nology cannot be resolved by authoritative scientific knowledge; instead, they must involve a balancing of technical considerations with other criteria that are explicitly nonscientific: ethics, esthetics, equity, ideology. Trade-offs must be made in light of inevitable uncertainties (Sarewitz, 1996, p. 182).

Contents

• Real Science Education Replacing PCB with Science through STS throughout All Levels of K12 Materials as One Approach: 9
• The Old and New Paradigms for Learning Science: 10
• The Real Science Approach Based on the SSTS Paradigm: 14
• References: 19
• The Development of Civic Scientific Literacy in the United States: 21
• The Conceptualization and Measurement of Civic Scientific Literacy: 23
• The Measurement of Civic Scientific Literacy: 26
• The Development of Civic Scientific Literacy: 29
• Conclusion: 42
• References: 44
• STS Science in Canada From Policy to Student Evaluation: 49
• Science Education in Canada: 50
• Curriculum Policy and Deliberation: 51
• Classroom Materials and Research and Development: 66
• Teacher Understanding and Implementation: 69
• Student Learning and Instruction Assessment: 73
• Summary and Implications: 80
• References: 83
• Tradeoffs Risks and Regulations in Science and Technology Implications for STS Education: 91
• STS and the Endangered Species Act: 94
• STS and Corporate Average Fuel Economy CAFE Standards: 104
• STS and Airbags: 111
• Implications for STS Education: 118
• Thoughts about the Evaluation of STS More Questions than Answers: 121
• Important Issues in STS that Affect Evalutaion: 122
• Suggestions for Evaluation: 134
• Summary: 137
• References: 138
• Science Technology Society and the Environment Scientific Literacy for the Future: 141
• Topics Reviewed by the Independent Commission and Findings: 144
• Recommendations: 162
• Conclusion: 163
• References: 164
• Marginalization of Technology within the STS Movement in American K12 Education: 167
• Technological Literacy: 171
• STS and K12 Science Education: 175
• STS in Technological Education: 182
• The Perennial Challenges of Educational Reform: 186
• Conclusion: 187
• Acknowledgments: 188
• Student Understanding of Global Warming Implications for STS Education beyond 2000: 193
• Scientific Literacy as a Foundation for STS Education: 197
• The STS Leadership Institute: 199
• The Science of Global Warming: 200
• Discussion: 218
• Implications for the New Millennium: 225
• STS Education for Knowledge Professionals: 231
• The Emergence of Knowledge Professionals: 232
• Who are Knowledge Professionals?: 234
• At Work with Knowledge Professionals: 237
• Knowledge Professionals and STS: 239
• STS Graduate Education for Knowledge Professionals: 243
• From Glimpsing One Tree to Surveying a Forest: 248
• Some Conclusions: 252
• References: 254
• Reculturing Science Politics Policy and Promises to Keep: 257
• Making Changes: 259
• Fallacy of the Market: 262
• Images of Careers: 264
• The New Scientist: 265
• Institutions that Matter: 266
• Missions and Dilemmas: 267
• Professionalized Scrutiny of Research and Development: 268
• Enterprise as a System: 271
• Prospects for a New Compact: 273
• References: 275
• Trends and Opportunities in Science and Technology Studies A View from the National Science Foundation: 277
• Orientation: 278
• Origins of STS: 279
• The Organizational Culture of the National Science Foundation: 281
• How STS Decides What to Fund: 283
• What Lies Ahead?: 287
• Conclusion: 290
• References: 291
• Index: 293

Bibliographic information

• Title: Science, Technology, and Society: A Sourcebook on Research and Practice; Volume 6 of Innovations in Science Education and Technology
• Editors: David D. Kumar, Daryl E. Chubin
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media, 2000
• ISBN: 0306461730, 9780306461736
• Length: 308 pages
• Subjects: Education / Adult & Continuing Education; Education / Classroom Management; Education / Computers & Technology; Education / Educational Psychology; Education / General; Education / Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects; Education / Teaching / General; Education / Teaching / Subjects / Science & Technology; Juvenile Nonfiction / Technology / General; Science / General; Science / Study & Teaching; Social Science / Sociology / General