University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1972 A future-oriented analysis of current directions in secondary science education. Christopher Dede University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Dede, Christopher, "A future-oriented analysis of current directions in secondary science education." (1972). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 4195. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/4195 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 1972 CHRISTOPHER JAMES DEDE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED A FUTURE-ORIENTED ANALYSIS OF CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN SECONDARY SCIENCE EDUCATION A Dissertation Presented By Christopher James Dede Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION September 1972 Education A FUTURE-ORIENTED ANALYSIS OF CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN SECONDARY SCIENCE EDUCATION A DISSERTATION BY CHRISTOPHER J. DEDE Approved as to style and content by: Vlq^jgA^ A. (Member) Member) September, 1972 Dedicated to my wife, Patty "While the mechanistic, reductionist philosophies of science have been of great utility in the physical sciences, in dealing with social situations where complicated human beings both as individuals and as groups occupy the center stage and where the whole is almost always greater than the sum of its parts, the philosophy of pragmatism with its emphasis upon the analysis of possible consequences provides a promising base." "Approaches to Science Education Research: Analysis and Criticism" Willard J. Jacobson Pg- 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Friends so numerous I cannot list them all have helped me with this thesis. Nine in particular stand out: Dr. George Hammond, whose encouragement and support helped me make the leap from chemistry to science education. Dr. Byrd Jones, whose suggestions and criticisms helped me mold my unfocused ideas to a coherent whole. Drs. Howard Peelle and Richard Konicek, whose support throughout the process of writing was invaluable. Drs. Claude Schultz and Peter Wagschal and Mr. Charles Camp, whose comments were of great assistance. My father and mother, whose financial sacrifices enabled me to have the education that made this dissertation possible. A Future-Oriented Analysis of Current Directions in Secondary Science Education Christopher J. Dede B.S. California Institute of Technology Directed by: Dr. Byrd L. Jones This thesis analyzes the assumptions underlying current directions in secondary science reform to determine if these assumptions are viable given probable world futures in the next forty years. The three secondary science assumptions most carefully examined are: 1) Discipline-oriented inquiry alone is a sufficient vehicle for secondary science education, provided that some material based on the scientific disciplines and "relevent" to society is included to interest students. 2) Standardized tests, grades, and similar standards of achievement are a sufficient means of measuring future excellence in secondary students. 3) "Superior" students, "disadvantaged" students, and "science-oriented" students can be identified, and special courses constructed for their use. To place this analysis in historical perspective, the major reforms in secondary science education after World War II are classified by common characteristics into 2 two groups. "First generation" reforms (PSSC, BSCS, CBA, CHEMS) occured in response to pressures for change in science education such as the emergence of the Cold War and the post-war rise in industrial demands for trained scientific manpower. "Second generation" reforms (Harvard Project Physics, Engineering Concepts Curriculum Project, American Chemical Society curriculum project, 1971 AAAS Teacher Education Guidelines) occured in response to the lack of success of the first generation reforms in the schools. The sets of assumptions underlying the first and second generation reforms are evaluated in the light of five alternative forecasts chosen as representative of the current schools of thought in future studies. These forecasts are The Year 2000 (Kahn and Wiener) , The Next Ninety Years (Brown, Bonner, and Weir), The Limits to Growth (Systems Dynamics Group—MIT), "What We Must Do" (Platt), and An Alternative Future for America II (Theobald). The major conclusions reached in this analysis are: 1) A new secondary science vehicle sufficient for teaching both future-oriented skills and discipline-based skills must be found. This vehicle must be capable of including both discplinary and non-disciplinary knowledge and must be viable beyond the traditional constraints and assumptions of the school. 3 2) New curricula created using this vehicle should be of three types: a) Young persons (ages fourteen to eighteen) would be given secondary science courses focusing both on the disciplinary aspects of science and on the long-term (forty years) future-oriented aspects of science and technology. b) All persons within the society would be encouraged to participate in semi-formal group experiences oriented around the short- i term (ten years) future-oriented aspects of science and technology. c) A small group would act to diffuse inform¬ ation through the media about the impacts of science and technology on the future of our society. 3) Specialists in fields other than science should be consulted to help in creating curricula which incorporate materials relevent to science/society issues from these other fields and to aid in ensuring that the science curriculum and other curricula at the same grade level form an integrated whole. At the same time, all three types of curricula at all grade levels should he designed to be an integrated progression of knowledge. 4 4) IQ tests, achievement tests, and similar instruments which purport to measure ability should be de-emphasized in favor of a broader variety of instruments which measure a wider range of skills and which reflect more adequately the richness and complexity of the challenges students will face in the next fifty years. 5) The use of tracking systems with different basic courses for each track should be discontinued. All science materials should be designed to combat sexual, racial, and social class biases. \ TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I. THE EARLY PART OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION . A Factual Summary of Events: World War II to Sputnik A Factual Summary of Events: Sputnik to 1963 Basic Assumptions Underlying the First Generation Reforms CHAPTER II. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE REFORM MOVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCIENCE EDUCATION . Some Problems of the First Generation Reform Curricula in the Secondary Schools Recent Developments in Secondary Science— The Second Generation Reform Projects The Basic Assumptions Underlying These Second Generation Materials CHAPTER III. EXAMINING DISCIPLINE-ORIENTED INQUIRY AS A VEHICLE FOR TEACHING SECONDARY SCIENCE . A Brief History of Discipline-Oriented Inquiry in Secondary Science Education A Future-Oriented Analysis of What Skills Secondary Science Education Should Attempt to Convey The Inadequacy of Discipline-Oriented Inquiry as a Sole Vehicle for Teaching These Skills TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) CHAPTER IV. EXAMINING RECENT CRITERIA FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE IN SECONDARY SCIENCE EDUCATION . 155 A Brief History of the Measurement of Student Excellence in Secondary Science Education A Future-Oriented Analysis of the Types of Student Excellence Science Education Should Attempt to Foster The Inadequacy of Present Ways of Measuring Student Excellence for Fostering These Future-Oriented Skills CHAPTER V. EXAMINING ELITISM IN SECONDARY SCIENCE EDUCATION . 213 A Brief History of Elitism in Secondary Science Education The Dysfunctional Nature of Present Forms of Elitism in Secondary Science Education Alternatives to Elitism in Secondary Science Education CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSIONS AND CONJECTURES ABOUT THE FUTURE OF SECONDARY SCIENCE EDUCATION. 254 The Strengths and Weaknesses of Current Directions in Secondary Science Education An Alternative Conception of Secondary Science Education Probable Futures for Secondary Science Education in the Next Ten Years A Meta-Perspective: The Nature of All Reforms TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) APPENDIX A. 271 APPENDIX B. 291 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 304 1 INTRODUCTION The Intent of This Thesis As a result of post-war reforms in the science cur¬ riculum, science education has moved from a past to a present orientation, both in terms of its content and its strategies for innovation. This thesis attempts a philosophical analysis of the assumptions underlying current directions in secondary science reform to determine if these assumptions are viable for future-oriented education. The thesis concludes with a projection of probabJe futures for secondary science educa¬ tion in the next ten years. The three secondary science assumptions which will be most carefully examined are: • discipline-oriented inquiry alone is a sufficient vehicle for secondary science education, provided that some material based on the scientific disciplines and "relevant" to society is included to interest students. • standardized tests, grades, and similar