The Role of Standards in the Quality of Science Instruction in the United Kingdom

In this presentation, the role of constructs in defining the goal and quality of science instruction will be explored.  Two examples will be used. In the first, the focus will be on the attempt over the past 15 year to articulate a more coherent account of how science works within the English national curriculum. The talk will show how that process was undertaken and the resistance that was encountered. In the second, the concept of scientific literacy as a competency as used in the Programme of International Student Achievement (PISA) science test will be presented. The values, beliefs and curriculum emphases that PISA intends and how they have been interpreted will be examined.  Drawing on his experience as chair of the expert group responsible for the framework for the 2015 tests, the talk will demonstrate how the concept of scientific literacy has evolved.  It will explore the mismatch that exists between the PISA articulation of the goal of science education and the traditional science curriculum using the UK as an example – in particular the emphasis on science for citizenship. The implications for national science curricula will be discussed.