2003 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 1-12
An adequate understanding of the nature of science, that is, an understanding of what science is, continues to be an important goal of science education. The Japanese view of science, however, has not been clearly formulated. In this project, we investigated the Japanese conception of the nature of science and technology, and of their interrelationship, as well as the relationship between the respective views of high school science teachers and students. The results are as follows. 1. Most Japanese accept both the linear and nonlinear development process of scientific knowledge, but the ratio of science teachers who accept the linear process is relatively low. 2. More than half of the subjects point out theory-ladenness as a reason why different conclusions are obtained from the same data. Not a few people, however, identify the methodological reason (e.g. calculation and analysis). 3. Most people agree that scientific theory is acceptable when correct logically, even when it is not be based on experimental evidence. 4. The number of people in general who understand the role of the scientific model as a form of theory is relatively low, but of course this does not apply to science teachers. 5. Only one third of the subjects conceive of science as value free, while most science teachers believe it is so. 6. Many people find it difficult to distinguish science from technology, but the number of high school students who find it difficult is particularly low. 7. Science teachers' views of science and technology are quite different from those of high school students in many respects. So it is difficult to see how the views of science teachers affect those of their students directly through their science classes.
