Pages 47-50
The paper presents and discusses selected data from an international comparative study called Science And Scientists (SAS). Some 10000 children around the age of 13 from 21 countries have provided data by answering an extended questionnaire. The study opens for national as well as international deliberations about priorities in science education. Differences based on culture as well as on gender are discussed. It is argued that these sorts of data may provide an empirical for discussions about priorities in the design of curricula and textbooks as well as choice of pedagogy. It may also provide an empirical background for discussions about local adaptation versus a universal science curriculum. Questionnaires of this sort may also be used in teacher training to sensitize student teachers to the fach that the science curriculum is not value-neutral and that and the choice of contents as well as classroom practices may favour or disfavour certain groups of students. Among the most prominent findings that Japanese children seem to be less interested in learning science than children in other countries, and that girls in particular seem to have a very low interest in science topics.
