Science:
One important human response to the wonder and
awe of nature from the earliest times has been to
observe the physical and biological environment
carefully, look for any meaningful patterns and relations,
make and use new tools to interact with nature, and
build conceptual models to understand the world. This
human endeavour has led to modern science. Broadly
speaking, the scientific method involves several
interconnected steps: observation, looking for
regularities and patterns, making hypotheses, devising
qualitative or mathematical models, deducing their
consequences, verification or falsification of theories
through observations and controlled experiments, and
thus arriving at the principles, theories and laws
governing the natural world. The laws of science are
never viewed as fixed eternal truths. Even the most
established and universal laws of science are always
regarded as provisional, subject to modification in the
light of new observations, experiments and analyses.
Science is a dynamic, expanding body of
knowledge, covering ever-new domains of experience.
In a progressive forward-looking society, science can
play a truly liberating role, helping people escape from
the vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance and superstition.
The advances in science and technology have
transformed traditional fields of work such as
agriculture and industry, and led to the emergence of
wholly new fields of work. People today are faced
with an increasingly fast-changing world where the most
important skills are flexibility, innovation and creativity.
These different imperatives have to be kept in mind in
shaping science education.
Good science education is true to the child, true
to life and true to science. This simple observation
leads to the following basic criteria of validity of a
science curriculum:
1. Cognitive validity requires that the content,
process, language and pedagogical practices of the curriculum are age appropriate, and within
the cognitive reach of the child.
2. Content validity requires that the curriculum must
convey significant and correct scientific
information. Simplification of content, which is necessary for adapting the curriculum to the
cognitive level of the learner, must not be so
trivialised as to convey something basically flawed
and/or meaningless.
3. Process validity requires that the curriculum should
engage the learner in acquiring the methods and
processes that lead to the generation and validation
of scientific knowledge and nurture the natural
curiosity and creativity of the child in science.
Process validity is an important criterion since it
helps the student in 'learning to learn' science.
4. Historical validity requires that the science
curriculum be informed by a historical
perspective, enabling the learner to appreciate
how the concepts of science evolve over time.
It also helps the learner to view science as a social
enterprise and to understand how social factors
influence the development of science.
5. Environmental validity requires that science
beplaced in the wider context of the learner's
environment, local and global, enabling him/her
to appreciate the issues at the interface of science,
technology and society, and equipping him/her
with the requisite knowledge and skills to enter
the world of work.
6. Ethical validity requires that the curriculum
promote the values of honesty, objectivity,
cooperation, and freedom from fear and
prejudice, and inculcate in the learner a concern
for life and preservation of the environment.
