Science and Society in the Classroom: Using Sociocultural Perspec ...

Sociocultural Contexts and Curriculum Issues

Science educators emphasize that science education be accessible to all students. However, the idea of Science for All, despite its centrality and renewed emphasis in several national reform documents, has proven difficult to actualize among all students (Barton, 1998). Literature indicates that an inadequate number of schools and a lack of classroom resources in the schools are some of the factors for the difficult transition between theory and practice in implementing the goals of scientific literacy (Oakes, 1990). Other factors that could impede the implementation of goals of scientific literacy include the insufficient knowledge base of teachers (Anderson, 1991), lack of interest and motivation of students (Kahle & Meece, 1994), and narrow visions of science implemented in schools (Roychoudhary, Tippins, & Nichols, 1995; Stanley & Brickhouse, 1995).

All current curriculum knowledge should be regarded as problematic and open to scrutiny, critical appraisal, and revision (Bencze & Hodson, 1999). The quality of science curriculum that young people receive in the schools is of particular concern to the science educator (Simpson & Troost, 1982). Several studies suggested that science is receiving little attention nationwide in the elementary school curriculum (Contant, 1974; Weiss, 1978; Miller & Prewitt, 1979). This problem is compounded by science programs in middle and high schools that have been irrelevant for large numbers of students at this age and maturity level (Simpson & Troost, 1982). Roth, McGinn, and Bowen (1996) advocated the use of open-ended laboratories to provide students with opportunities to view knowledge as socially constructed and personally meaningful.

The common theme in the reform documents (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996) was a call for students to do science instead of to learn science. Science educators are trying to make sense of the recommendations of the reform documents and their implications for school science. In response to these reform documents, new curricula have been developed to encourage hands-on, minds-on approaches, active experimentation, and the inclusion of learners' contexts. However, report writers and