While chemistry is popular for children of primary school age, its popularity drops dramatically in secondary schools. A potential solution to address this is to recognise the need for greater relevance-relevance to t...While chemistry is popular for children of primary school age, its popularity drops dramatically in secondary schools. A potential solution to address this is to recognise the need for greater relevance-relevance to the curriculum, to the needs of society and, in the eyes of the students. The paper tries to puts forward a rethink of the philosophy for school chemistry education, based on the underlying belief that chemistry education is an integral part of education. The target is labelled scientific and technological literacy for all (STL). STL rejects the notion that chemistry is taught solely to acquire the abilities to be a scientist and supports the vision of a single curriculum goal, applicable to all students. Besides being a philosophy, STL is also a teaching approach. This approach is to initiate the teaching of chemistry topics, starting from a carefully chosen society perspective and to introduce the conceptual learning on a need-to-know basis. A limitation is the professional development of teachers. Suggestion for overcoming this involve workshop on materials development. A concern is expressed in cases where teachers make use of ready-made teaching materials (a common practice), without first gaining an understanding and an appreciation of the intended philosophy related to these materials.展开更多
文摘While chemistry is popular for children of primary school age, its popularity drops dramatically in secondary schools. A potential solution to address this is to recognise the need for greater relevance-relevance to the curriculum, to the needs of society and, in the eyes of the students. The paper tries to puts forward a rethink of the philosophy for school chemistry education, based on the underlying belief that chemistry education is an integral part of education. The target is labelled scientific and technological literacy for all (STL). STL rejects the notion that chemistry is taught solely to acquire the abilities to be a scientist and supports the vision of a single curriculum goal, applicable to all students. Besides being a philosophy, STL is also a teaching approach. This approach is to initiate the teaching of chemistry topics, starting from a carefully chosen society perspective and to introduce the conceptual learning on a need-to-know basis. A limitation is the professional development of teachers. Suggestion for overcoming this involve workshop on materials development. A concern is expressed in cases where teachers make use of ready-made teaching materials (a common practice), without first gaining an understanding and an appreciation of the intended philosophy related to these materials.
