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Following in the footsteps of a variety of previous research that elaborates on the current state of affairs in academia, this article sets out the argument that neoliberalism and its corresponding iterations of science and technology and research funding policies in this country have implications for the types of knowledge that can be generated within and communicated without contemporary institutions of higher education. Using agricultural biotechnology as the lens through which to focus analysis, the article outlines a number of empirical examples that illustrate how the free flow of knowledge either critical of or not readily appropriated by capital is being impeded. (Contains 1 figure and 23 notes.)

This research study sought to identify prominent features of the nature of science (NOS) embedded in authentic scientific inquiry. Fourteen well-established scientists from different parts of the world, working in experimental or theoretical research, in both traditional fields such as astrophysics and rapidly growing research fields such as molecular biology, participated as the informants of the study. The descriptions of their practices revealed eight prominent categories of NOS features. In an earlier paper of ours, we have reported four categories under the two themes: (1) the methods of scientific investigation and (2) the role and status of scientific knowledge. In this paper, we focus on the remaining four categories under the theme: social dimensions of science. Scientists' descriptions of their practices have "put some flesh on the bones" of the assertion that science is socially and culturally embedded. These descriptions also have considerable potential for development into interesting case studies as teaching resources to enhance and enrich students' understanding of NOS. (Contains 1 table and 7 notes.)

Recent years have seen a growth not only in biological knowledge but also, and more significantly for teacher education, in the types of knowledge manifested in biology. No longer, therefore, is it adequate for teachers to retain a Mertonian or a Popperian conception of science. Today's teachers of science need also to be able to help their students discuss bioethics and the societal implications of biology, even when these are controversial and contested. Moreover, practical work can no longer be confined to "pure", "safe", and "confined" activities. These are increasingly rejected by students, validly, as boring or irrelevant. Instead, we need to help students undertake a range of activities that help them to develop criticality and the potential for action. While some may see this as an attack on science, I would argue that this attitude is akin to those who once held that religious education (in countries that permit it) should confine itself to "the faith".

The development of a science education that includes a focus upon the nature of science suggests the need for "pedagogic tools" that can be used to engage children with the procedural understandings that are central to the scientific approach to enquiry. This paper reports on a collaborative action research project that focused on the use of secondary data as just such a "tool" for stimulating engagement with procedural understandings among primary school children. It argues that the comparative analysis of secondary and investigative data "can" provide a basis for such engagement. However, such comparative analysis will only mirror the collaborative nature of the scientific enterprise where children have guided opportunities to discuss their understanding of the issues revealed by the comparisons. The research suggests that children work best with this data if the scientific approach to enquiry is contextualized through connection with the knowledge claims made in science. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Argues for the benefits of using historical perspective in the teaching and learning of science. Describes the positive effects of using such an approach during the study of atomic theory with 14-year-old students. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/WRM)

Reviews the criterion of values as a means of distinguishing science from technology. Reports on research that finds a difference in the attitudes and values of male and female trainee-teachers when choosing contexts for technology. Concludes that the notion of "value-free" technology teaching should be contested, and that the cognitive values of science should be defended. (Author/WRM)

Explores how stability and continuity in scientific disciplines are sustained through socialization processes of doctoral training. Identifies inter-generational transmission of knowledge, skills, and assumptions as key elements in socialization. Uses this research to contest recent United Kingdom educational policies based on theories of a critical mass of active researchers. (DSK)

Outlined are the activities of the Engineering Council in the United Kingdom, including national system for engineering, salary survey, and management and business skills report. (YP)

Discusses the work of T. S. Kuhn and Sir Karl Popper. Current views on the nature of science and some current ideology of scientific education are also analyzed with regard to the views of science due to Kuhn and Popper. (HM)

Examines the history of the "Public Understanding of Science" movement, including some of the wider debates articulated by key figures and groups in the field. Discusses the re-emergence of the issue of science communication in the 1990s as well as the development in universities of the new field of science communication. (PVD)