Science, Technology, and Society: Some Philosophical Reflections on a Grade 11 Course

Authors

  • Paul L. Gardner Monash University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/jet.v27i3.52334

Abstract

In 1984 the Ministry of Education in British Columbia decided to introduce a Science and Technology course at Grade 11. The course focuses upon the relationships among science, technology, and society. Its introduction accompanied a policy decision mandating all Grade 11 students to take some science; about a fifth of Grade 11 students in the province take the course. Previous researchers have reported that the course suffers from a lack of academic status. In this paper I speculate that a contributing factor may be a deeply ingrained cultural one, namely that Aristotelian conceptions of the superiority of pure science over practical knowledge continue to affect the status of school subjects. I also question whether the course presents an accurate portrayal of the nature of technology and of the relationship between technology and science.

Downloads

Published

2018-05-16

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 3 (1993)

Section

Articles

License

The Journal of Educational Thought retains first publication rights for all articles. The Journal grants reproduction rights for noncommercial educational purposes with the provision that full acknowledgement of the work’s source be noted on each copy. The Journal will redirect to the appropriate authors any inquiries for further commercial publication of individual articles. All authors wishing to publish in JET will be asked to fill in and sign a Consent to Publish and Transfer of Copyright agreement.

Authors must affirm that any submission to JET has not been and will not be published or submitted elsewhere while under considration by JET.