| Chapter 2: | Background Study |
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Fensham (1999) conceptualized four priority process skills that are intimately related to content knowledge skills:
Kuhn (1970) and other philosophers of science also argued that scientific progress could best be described as a revisionary process rather than a cumulative process. Other researchers also emphasized the need for pupils to build their own knowledge by being actively involved in learning through constructive processes that may not lead directly to formal science concepts (Bracey, 1996).
Schooling inAmerica:IsItStillDecontextualized?
Historical landmarks in the development and evolution of current educational practices in the United States provide insights into the conceptualization and practice of prevailing school practices. In the early 1900s, schools were heavily influenced by the widespread industrialization of society. Frederick W. Taylor was the first person to use the word efficiency (in the sense of frugality of means) in the context of schooling. Its meaning was derived from engineer's usage, as were other words such as commendable and industrious that led to the scientific management of education (Button, 1993). Another noteworthy educator and scholar at the University of Chicago, Franklin Bobbitt, strongly felt that schools should be like factories wherein teachers were the workers and pupils were to be treated as raw materials or work in progress (Button, 1993).
The factory model of schooling drew a lot of criticism from progressive thinkers and philosophers such as John Dewey, William Kilpatrick, and others who argued for social reconstruction. Their main argument was against overemphasis in the model on efficiency at the cost of social