Social and Cultural Responsibilities of Science in the School Curriculum: Rationale, Objectives and Teaching Methods

Abstract

The school curriculum throughout history has experienced ebbs and flows as various subject areas produce claims and counter-claims about their apparently legitimate position in the proper education of the world's learners. Science is no exception to the list of claimants which have made such demands and applied such pressures to the school curriculum. These claims and counter claims seem to coincide with periods of great cultural, social and ideological changes either world-wide or in the developed sectors of the world. Very few periods of such apparent upheaval are initiated in so-called Third World Countries but the latter do become involved in them eventually. I believe that the emphasis on social and cultural responsibilities of Science is such an upheaval that currently engages the attention of educators, policy makers and society at large in the present-day Caribbean. As such it seems important to look critically at the issues in an attempt to devise meaningful strategies to chart the way forward. This paper tries to grapple with this problem and concludes with suggestions of some objectives and teaching methods which seem relevant and feasible in our present situation.