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How History and Philosophy in the US Science Education Standards Could Have Promoted Multidisciplinary Teaching
Author(s) -
Matthews Michael R.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
school science and mathematics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.135
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 1949-8594
pISSN - 0036-6803
DOI - 10.1111/j.1949-8594.1998.tb17423.x
Subject(s) - science education , science, technology, society and environment education , national science education standards , history and philosophy of science , philosophy of science , multidisciplinary approach , function (biology) , philosophy of education , mathematics education , social science education , history of science , sociology , engineering ethics , higher education , pedagogy , social science , political science , epistemology , mathematics , comparative education , engineering , law , philosophy , evolutionary biology , biology
Based on the forthcoming book, Time for Science Education (Matthews, in press), this article notes that the US National Science Education Standards advocate liberal, contextual, or cultural goals for science education, including the expectation that students will understand a certain amount of the historical and cultural significance of science. After mentioning something of the rich role played by the pendulum in the foundation of modern science, in solving the longitude problem, in establishing a universal length standard, and in allowing the creation of an accurate timekeeper, as well as the pendulum clock's function in philosophy and theology, the article draws attention to the scant treatment given the pendulum in the Standards . Opportunities are thus lost for realizing the Standards ' laudable goals for US science education. Finally, it is claimed that realizing these cultural goals for science education requires more routine incorporation of the history and philosophy of science into preservice and inservice courses for science teachers.