Science-Technology-Society as a feasible paradigm for the relevance of chemical education in emerging countries

GARRITZ ANDONI; FERREIRA DOS SANTO, BRUNO; LORENZO, M. GABRIELA

Relevant chemistry education ? from theory to practice

Sense Publishers

Lugar: Rotterdam; Año: 2015; p. 241 - 261

One of the main challenges for science education is to face social and cultural aspects, in order to help develop students? capacities as responsible savvy citizens in a world increasingly influenced by science and technology. The educational goal is to understand the human and social dimensions of scientific and technological practice and its consequences. Therefore, science teaching requires pertinent pedagogical content knowledge for planning and enacting new strategies, including scepticism, controversy, complexity, multiple perspective and inquiry. Teachers should transform everyday problems into learning situations to promote students decision-making, argumentation, discussion and debate, moving them to more informed views about the nature of science. In most countries the majority of high school students respond favourably to science courses that encourage practical utility, human values, environmental issues and a connection with everyday life. That is why the Science-Technology-Society (STS) dimension has been selected in many educational systems and schools aiming ?Science Literacy for all.? It is important for strengthening democracy that our citizens have an opinion and a position on socio-scientific issues, specially the controversial ones, such as pesticides, medicines, cloning, genetically modified organisms, energy issues (nuclear, petroleum, global warming), the release of potentially harmful substances, the use of hormones and antibiotics in animal production, and so forth, but also to be literate on the framework, history and philosophy of science and technology. In this chapter we discuss some pedagogical considerations about teaching and learning STS socio-scientific issues into chemistry classes, especially meaningful for students in emerging countries; taking into account that teachers and students interact with local and general curricula, institutions, educative policies, available technology, society and culture.