Rethinking the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge: A Case Study of Teaching the Environment in Science Classrooms

Mijung Kim, Natural Sciences and Science Education, National Institute of Education, Singapore; Wolff-Michael Roth, Curriculum & Instruction, University of Victoria, Canada. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mijung Kim, Natural Sciences and Science Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore, 637616. E-mail: mijung.kim@ nie.edu.sg Gravity, the Krebs cycle, or the process of oxidization/ combustion. When science educators came to realize that knowing a concept means knowing it in relevant contexts, they began to consider including the discussion of STSE issues in the classroom such as missile launches and the social aspects of the relationship between combustion and the atmosphere (Aikenhead, 1994). It is up to students themselves to choose what they want to do with the conceptual knowledge, for example learning Krebs cycle for school tests. However, this does not coincide with the purposes of Science, Technology Society, and the Environment (STSE) education. The underlying idea is that discussing STSE issues provides students with a means of linking what they learn in science classrooms and their everyday world outside (DeBoer, 2000). This thereby constitutes a link between knowing science and responsible Rethinking the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge: A Case Study of Teaching the Environment in Science Classrooms