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This is based on experience and contacts with numerous science educators who have been concerned with “HAVE NOT” (less advantaged/disadvantaged/socially, culturally, and economically different) students around the world. I conclude that recent curricular efforts in science and technology education offer no solutions for these students. The failure is partly due to the structure of the present system of science and technology education—a structure which is based on the assumption that individuals in various subcultures will respond to the opportunity to receive science and technology education, and that individuals will understand its value to themselves, their families, and their communities. If students do not demonstrate this level of understanding, they are regarded as dumb—that they do not want to or are unable to cope with modern society. Manipulation of the physical world is the strength that the material culture has to offer and we say, “If only we could teach these 'have-not' students to think logically, that is, scientifically, to bring them into the 20th century and get them to abandon their obviously unsuccessful customs, they would be better equipped to handle the problems and live more productive lives.” There is enough truth in this thinking to validate demands for more technological education; but there is also enough narrowness and over-simplification to trap the unwary into believing that technology is a complete system of thought and, therefore, the key to heaven’s gate. If we identify a weakness of various ethnic cultures as their resistance to scientific thinking, then an equal stubbornness on the part of Western-scientific culture exists in its overcommitment to technology. The historical record of all great civilizations tells us that cultural idealism and technology exist side by side. Great engineering masterpieces in all ethnic cultures testify that science and technology are many thousands of years old. What Westerners call the “industrial revolution” only means an unprecedented acceleration and exceedingly strong emphasis on the technological aspect of human activity. The fact is that five or six thousand years ago, the rise of the great civilizations was not brought about by technology alone, but by radically new social inventions. Keep in mind that the overwhelming commitment to industrial affluence in the West appears to be at the expense of health and mental balance, and with the advent of the nuclear bomb, survival itself. Today, less advantaged students are aware of the phenomenal advancements of Europe and post-European cultures. At the same time, they perceive that their own culture has contributed little to the current syndrome of technology. They feel it is too late for them to make a significant contribution to the society in which they must live. Nowhere is ruthless effacement of a people’s pride in their own achievements more evident than in current education practice as it affects less advantaged pupils. These students may be of people whose culture was solidly science-based long before modern technology came into existence, yet this fact is ignored in the present teaching curriculum. Have their achievements in applied science, agriculture, construction, and mathematical manipulations been so useless as to be given no consideration in the present science and technology education curriculum? I am not consciously digressing from my purpose here, but only seek to suggest new directions for imparting meaningful science and technology education of our less advantaged (have-not) students. Now the following question arises: What, then, should be the nature of science and technology education for these students? In my opinion, a totally new system of science and technology education is needed that will enable these “have-not” students to develop skills and acquire knowledge, which has a higher probability of producing a better understanding of their environment, and which will make possible for the students an acquaintance with the process or discovery of knowledge. Such a curriculum in science and technology education would lay emphasis on the practical understanding of science and not on theoretical and scientific principles that are unrelated to the students’ daily lives. Rather, the emphasis would be placed on the application of scientific knowledge to improve living conditions and to other aspects of everyday life. Furthermore, science and technology education must be correlated with scientific and technological achievements of the cultural heritage of these less advantaged people. Hopefully, these students may develop pride in their scientifically and technologically rich heritage, develop an interest in learning and understanding of science and technology education, Science and Technology Education Imperatives for the World’s “Have Nots” GUEST EDITARTICLES