Models in Science and in Education: A Critical Review of Research on Students' Ideas about the Earth and Its Place in the Universe.

Presents a critical review of research on student conceptions of the Earth and its place in the universe with regard to epistemological, historical, and cognitive aspects. The Copernican model drives the research questioning about the position of the Earth in the universe with little correlation of the model with the empirical level of observation. Contains 35 references. (Author/PVD)