De nouveaux guides pour l’alphabétisation scientifique

It is now a decade since the first major curricula began to appear that were serious responses to the challenge that school science, particularly in the compulsory years, should be concerned primarily with general scientific literacy, that is, with a learning of science that would empower all students for life in societies increasingly influenced by science and technology. In almost all cases, these curricula have expectations for science teaching and learning that are quite unrealistically extensive. They are already proving difficult for teachers and unattractive to students. Furthermore, this elaboration of the content for school science has led to a questioning of the notion of scientific literacy itself. Scientists and science educators have been primarily responsible for suggesting the expanded curriculum content. In this paper it is argued that this is a consequence of seeing society through scientifically attuned eyes. It is time, therefore, to consider life in society itself as the starting point for determining the scientific knowledge that should be given priority in the school science curriculum. A current example of this type of analysis of life in society in three Chinese cities is given.