One of the most important factors impacting on a student’s perceptions of, and attitudes towards, science in school will be the department’s schemes of work, and the type of knowledge and pedagogy promoted. Schemes of work will inevitably reflect examination specifications, any statutory curricula requirements that happen to be in force, any current political agendas and initiatives, as well as the values and beliefs about the subject held by the teachers developing them.
When people speak of ‘knowledge’, what do they mean by the term? Is there a shared understanding of the concept? From a philosophical perspective, knowledge is typically divided into three categories:
These three categories are shown in Figure 1.
The sort of science knowledge that is valued by the education system can be seen in the curriculum and by what is tested through examinations.
Allow about 20 minutes
Look at the schemes of work and examinations papers from the different examination boards used by your school. Analyse the documents to identify the sort of knowledge that is being assessed and therefore valued. What is the balance of personal, procedural and propositional knowledge in each? What value is placed on conceptual knowledge as opposed to ‘facts’?
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