Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Japan Society for Science Education

In summary, it is important for this task force to remember the lessons learned from previous national and international experiences and focus on the process of educational reform as well as the product. This process requires that every project start with extensive dialog with the intended audience to communicate both the goals and hear the local characteristics to be dealt with as the reform effort in adapted and folded into local realities.

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Unbridled scientific research and technological developments in the "horizon technologies" of androids, genetic engineering and Internet-dependent microcomputers are moving humankind towards achieving god-like abilities of creativity and manipulation which may threaten human existence. As one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in the world, Japan has a moral obligation to take a leadership role in developing a science education curriculum that help our children develop the understanding, attitudes and action needed to critique and control technological innovation. This will require a fundamental reorientation of science education towards an STS approach. Realizing this curriculum change begins with science teachers in Japan questioning with their students technological changes, such as the recent use of instructional technology and the Intemet in education. Teachers can then present opportunities in science education for the present generation of students to take social action towards keeping technological change within strict moral control. In this way, Japan can lead the world in developing a science education that, if adopted world-wide, could present a hopeful future for humankind.

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The high achievement in science of Japanese children, network of science centers in Japan's prefectures, the Japanese experience in development of low-cost science experiments and demonstrations, the Japanese television programs in science, and the Japanese science education researches point to areas of financial and technical assistance that Japan can provide to other countries. Such support may be in the form of bilateral package cooperation projects or inter-country collaborative programs in curriculum development and standardization, research, teacher training, and use of information technology in science education.

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Supported by JICA, now three growth centers of science education in Indonesia improve them selves in all aspects of science education and collaborate each other in the project called IMSTEP. In the beginning of the project several surveys have been conducted in order to get the data base for restmcmring and improving the aspects of science education, such as curriculum and syllabi, teaching methodology, teaching materials, and cooperation between the university and its surrounded schools. In this project training in some aspects of science education for Indonesian lecturers has also been done in Japan in order to learn Japan science education. This training has great influence on the development of science education in Indonesia. The training affects the ingredient of the draft on new curriculum and the practice of science teaching in lndonesian middle schools. In order to make a better cooperation in science education between Japan and Indonesia, some activities should be done, such as joint researches in science education in promoting mutual understanding in science education between two countries, opportunity for Indonesian science teachers to visit Japan and learn science education in Japan, and the development of sister university between two countries.

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