Ebook: Science Education and Culture: The Contribution of History and Philosophy of Science

This anthology contains selected papers from the 'Science as Culture' conference held at Lake Como, and Pavia University Italy, 15-19 September 1999. The conference, attended by about 220 individuals from thirty countries, was a joint venture of the International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group (its fifth conference) and the History of Physics and Physics Teaching Division of the European Physical Society (its eighth conference). The magnificient Villa Olmo, on the lakeshore, provided a memorable location for the presentors of the 160 papers and the audience that discussed them. The conference was part of local celebrations of the bicentenary of Alessandro Volta's creation of the battery in 1799. Volta was born in Como in 1745, and for forty years from 1778 he was professor of experimental physics at Pavia University. The conference was fortunate to have had the generous financial support of the Italian government's Volta Bicentenary Fund, Lombardy region, Pavia University, Italian Research Council, and Kluwer Academic Publishers. The papers included here, have or will be, published in the journal Science & Education, the inaugural volume (1992) of which was a landmark in the history of science education publication, because it was the first journal in the field devoted to contributions from historical, philosophical and sociological scholarship. Clearly these 'foundational' disciplines inform numerous theoretical, curricular and pedagogical debates in science education. Contemporary Concerns The reseach promoted by the International and European Groups, and by the journal, is central to science education programmes in most areas of the world.

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This anthology contains 21 papers by prominent historians and philosophers of science, philosophers of education, science educators and science teachers. It is expansive in its subject matter, and detailed in its analysis. The common thread in all papers is the contribution that the history and philosophy of science makes to theoretical, curricular, and pedagogical issues in science education.
This is a timely focus as, worldwide, there are increasing demands made on science curriculum writers and teachers to ensure that students come to know something of the `nature of science', or something about the `big picture' of science. This means knowing something of the history and methodology of science, its relations with world views, and how science articulates with social and cultural values and interests. The contributions show how historically and philosophically informed teaching of science can create this `big picture' knowledge about science, which in turn allows science to inform culture and social life.