The Place of Ethics in Science Education: Implications for Practice (original) (raw)
Related papers
ETHICS, ISSUES AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
WEST AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, 1992
For the past two years at NTU, I have been running a fourth year Bachelor of Education course on science issues. The majority of those doing the course are working primary teachers from a variety of backgrounds. The first part of the course consists of the history and philosophy of science, whilst the second part concerns science issues. The reason that I introduced some basic principles of ethics into the course, was so that, as a group, we could try to use some common benchmarks to judge the different issues that students presented to us. This was the starting point and in the paper I will discuss a number of case studies that have aroused some interest and debate. It is hoped that there will be some time for discussion of other scientific issues that colleagues may like to raise.
Science & Education, 2022
Many science educators have argued in favour of including socioscientific issues (SSI) in general, and ethical issues in particular, in school science. However, there have been a number of objections to this proposal, and it is widely acknowledged that such teaching places additional demands on science teachers. This study examined the curricula, textbooks and views of both student teachers and established teachers in England and in Germany regarding the teaching of ethical issues in secondary school science, particularly the ethical issues surrounding animal tests. Analysis of the curriculum documents for secondary or upper secondary school science showed that in both countries, ethical considerations feature strongly. However, in both countries, the overall treatments in the school textbooks of the ethical issues of animal testing were generally 'thin', and little opportunity was given for students to consider different ethical frameworks. The teacher and student teacher interviews revealed that interviewees generally gave ethical issues less emphasis than fundamental science. A number of interviewees referred to a lack of appropriate teaching material, and many of them also had concerns that such teaching could give rise to classroom management issues or that they might be accused of indoctrinating their students. Given the increasing acknowledgement of the need for school science to address so-called wicked socioscientific problems, these findings are a concern. We end with recommendations for curricula, for textbooks and for teacher education.
Theory and Research in Education, 2011
An overarching epistemological goal of science is to develop a comprehensive, systematic, empirically grounded understanding of nature. Two obstacles stand in the way: (1) Nature is enormously complicated. (2) Findings are fallible: no matter how well established a conclusion is, it still might be wrong. To pursue this goal in light of the obstacles, science incorporates ethical values. These values are not mere means; their realization is integral to the sort of understanding that science embodies. The recognition of these values should be incorporated into science education.
Science and Ethics: Implications for Teacher Education
Journal of Indian Education, 2012
The discipline of Science has generally been viewed as absolute and value-free. 20th century has seen sciences endowed with materialist and technological bent of researches. Technology as a fruit of it seems to have abstracted itself completely from the society at large. This has been a direct result of the positivist character of science that completely neglects the naturalistic order. Scientists and technologists have never been concerned with the ethical or moral questions that arise in the society. But it has now been agreed rather proved that science and technology without ethics cannot be liberating in a true sense and since then there has been a constant urge to include this component in science education. One suggested way of integrating the ethical component curriculum with a sound grounding in ethics. The present paper attempts to animal experimentation, along with the socio-ethical debates centered on well as to show the need for pedagogical improvement and innovation with regard to dealing with these issues in the classroom.
Teaching Ethical Issues in Science
This paper presents a study that investigates the teaching and learning aspects of controversial issues in science education. Teaching ethical issues is mandatory for science teachers in England; however, teachers may experience difficulties in exploring contemporary issues in science due to rapid and unpredictable changes. The study carries an exploratory nature and was conducted with the participation of (n=29) students where they were asked to answer three questions: (a) How do you think a "designer baby" is made? (b) What do you think a test-tube baby is? and (c) Some people think parents should have the right to choose things like the sex or eye color of their baby, what are your thoughts? Results indicate that teaching ethical and social issues raises issues in the instructional effectiveness of teachers. (Contains 11 references.) (YDS)
Ethics and Science Education: How Subjectivity Matters
This Springer brief encapsulates a line of research that looks at how students are positioned as ethical actors/decision makers in biology education by science policy, curriculum, and classroom resources. Its basis comes from a textbook study that examined how biology texts work to constitute subjectivities related to neoliberalism and global capitalism, sex/gender and sexuality, and ethics. The study found that textbook discourses set limits on a) the types of ethical concerns represented b) the modes of ethical engagement c) the dispositions necessary to engage in ethical action or decision-making. Policy reform, regulation, and personal lifestyle choices were the primary ways students could approach ethical decision-making or action. While these approaches are useful, they are likely not sufficient for dealing with major twenty first century problems such as climate change and social inequality, along with new ethical dimensions introduced by biotechnologies and genomic research. This research brief sets a context for how discourses of science education policy and curricula work to shape a ‘subject of ethics’, that is how students come to see themselves as participants in issues of ethical concern. Drawing from a structural-poststructural philosophical approach, Science and Technology Studies, educational research, and a methodology based on discourse analysis and ethnography, this book's overall goal is to assist with research into subjectivity, ethics, politics, policy, and socioscientific issues in science education.
Science and ethics: Some issues for education
Science education, 2001
Ethical issues concerning pain and suffering of animals are necessarily a consideration when it comes to killing "pest" or "feral" species in Australia. Within a continent where there are no large predators, many introduced animal species such as rabbits, foxes, horses, donkeys, camels, goats, and mice have been able to thrive, competing with the interests of farmers and graziers, and livestock and food production. These species, thus, gain the label of "pest." Many methods now exist to kill these species and, consequently, ethical issues arise concerning the possible pain and suffering caused as a direct result of these methods. Yet within government and scientific communities, ethical issues are reduced to a secondary consideration without serious debate or contention. Ethical issues appear to be at odds with scientific agendas. How can environmental ethics be incorporated as part of science-based decision making that appeals to objectivity and scientific evidence? Within educational institutions as well, the same dilemma exists: How can ethical issues be addressed within the science curriculum and in the classroom? A greater understanding of various perspectives on the subject of environmental ethics and the value positions advocated by proponents of these perspectives may help teachers consider ways of handling such issues in the science classroom.
Assessing ethics in secondary science
An increasing number of science courses now include consideration of the ethical implications of science. However, there is little agreement about how ethical reasoning in science should be assessed. This article highlights the conclusions of a seminar on the assessment of ethics in science that was organised by the Nuffield Foundation Curriculum Programme and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. It includes the eight recommendations of the resulting report. These relate to the differences between ethics and science, the demands placed on science teachers, the importance of student progression, the design of examination questions, the design of mark schemes, and teacher development.