NIGERIA HISTORY
FIRST
United kingdom
In England and
Wales schools science is a compulsory subject in the national curriculum. All pupils
from 5 to 16 years of age must study science. It is generally taught as a single subject science until sixth form, then splits into
subject-specific a levels (PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY). However, the government has
since expressed its desire that those
pupils who achieve well at the
age of 14 should be offered the opportunity to study
the three separate
sciences from
September 2008. In Scotland the
subjects split into chemistry, physics
and biology at the age of
13-15 for standard grades in these
subjects, and there is also a combined
science standard grade qualification which students can sit, provided their school offers it.
In
September 2006 a new science programme of study known as 21st century science as introduced
as a GCSE option in UK
schools, to “give all 14 to
16 year olds a worthwhile
and inspiring experience of science”
In the US, science education was a scatter of subjects
prior to this standardization in
the 1890s the development of a science curriculum in
the US emerged gradually after extended debate
between two ideologies, citizen science
and pre-professional training. As
a result of a conference of 30
leading secondary and college
educators in Florida, the National
Education Association appointed a Committee of Ten
in 1892 which had authority to organize future meetings and appoint subject matter
committees of the major subjects taught in U.S. secondary schools. The committee was composed of ten educators (all
men) and was chaired by Charles Eliot of
Harvard university . the committee
of ten met, and appointed nine
conference committees (Latin, Greek, English, other modern languages,
mathematics, history, civil government and political economy , and three
in science ). The three
conference committees appointed for
science were: physics, astronomy, and
chemistry
1.
Natural history
2.
And
geography
Each
committee, appointed by the committee of ten , was composed of ten leading specialists from colleges and
normal schools, and secondary schools.
Each committee met in a different
location in the U.S the three science committees met for three days in the Chicago area.
Committee reports were submitted to the committee of ten, which met for four
days in new York, to create a comprehensive
report. In 1894, the NEA published the results of work of these
conference committees.
According to the committee of ten, the
goal of high schools was to prepare all students to do well in life, contributing to their
well being and the good of society. Another
goal laws to prepare some
students to succeed in college.
This committee supported the citizen science approach focused on mental training and withheld
performance in science studies from consideration for college entrance. The
BAAS encourage their longer standing
model in the UK the US
adopted a curriculum was characterized
as follows:
The format of shared
mental training and pre-professional
training consistently dominated the curriculum from its inception to now. However, the
movement to incorporate a humanistic
approach, such as is science,
technology, society and environment
education is growing and being
implemented more broadly in the late
20th century (Aikenhead , 1994). Reports by the American academy for the advancement of
science (AAAS), including project
2061, and by the national
committee on science education standards
and assessment detail goals
for science education that link classroom science to practical
applications and societal implications.
Pedagogy
Whilst the public image
of science education may be
one of simply learning facts by
rote, science education in recent history
also generally concentrates on
the teaching of science concepts and addressing misconceptions that learners
may hold regarding science concepts or other content. Research shows l that students will retain knowledge for a longer period of time if they are involved in more hands on
activities