The nature of science in science curricula
Methods and concepts of analysis
Sílvia Ferreira
Ana M. Morais
Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon
Revised personal version of the article published in:
International Journal of Science Education, 35(16), 2670–2691. (2013).
IJSE homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09500693.2011.621982
The nature of science in science curricula:
Methods and concepts of analysis
Sílvia Ferreira
Ana M. Morais
Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon
INTRODUCTION
The idea that science education should integrate a metascientific dimension, related to science
construction/ nature of science, aroused out in the twentieth century. Incorporating the nature
of science in school science has widely been associated with the relation between science,
technology and society (Aikenhead, 2000; Santos, 1999). This means that aspects related to
the methodology of science, how science progresses, the relation between science, technology
and society, the relations within the scientific community and the psychological
characteristics of scientists, should be considered as important dimensions of science
education (e.g. McComas & Olson, 1998; Lederman, 2007). According to McComas, Clough
e Almazroa (1998),
“the phrase ‘nature of science’ is used to describe the intersection of issues addressed by the philosophy,
history, sociology, and psychology of science as they apply to and potentially impact science teaching and
learning. As such, the nature of science is a fundamental domain for guiding science educators in accurately
portraying science to students” (p.5).
Following these perspectives, science curricula have worldwide given more emphasis to the
nature of science (BouJaoude, 2002). The main objective of this article is to divulge methods
and concepts that may be used to appreciate the nature of science in science curricula. With
this purpose we describe an exemplary study made with a Portuguese curriculum.
Portugal has followed the international trend for long namely when, in the academic year of
2001/2002, a curricular reorganization took place at the level of compulsory schooling (ages
6-15) with the application of new organizational guidelines and a new curriculum design.
Within this curricular reorganization, two main guiding texts were produced, the Essential
Competences (DEB, 2001) and the Curriculum Guidelines (DEB, 2002). The first text sets up
the competences to be developed across the various disciplines and the second defines the
competences specific of each discipline. At the level of middle school (ages 13- - 15+), the
two traditional science disciplines in Portuguese curricula (Physics/Chemistry and
Biology/Geology) are now integrated in one same area of Physical and Natural Sciences. The
respective curriculum guidelines are presented in parallel in a common text which is unified
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around four organizational themes: ‘Earth in Space’, ‘Earth in Transformation’,
‘Sustainability in the Earth’ and ‘Living Better on Earth’.
The study presented in this article was focused on the theme “Sustainability in the Earth” (8th
year of schooling, age 14) and is part of a broader research developed by the ESSA Group1
that was centred on the process of curricular reorganization (Alves, 2007; Calado, 2007;
Ferreira, 2007)2. The study carried out by Ferreira (2007) analyzed the sociological message
transmitted by the Official Pedagogic Discourse (OPD) of the Natural Science curriculum and
the extent to which that message is a result of the ideological and pedagogical principles of
the authors of the curriculum. The study was focused on the OPD dimensions related to the
what is taught and the how it is taught, regarding the nature of science. In the first case,
science construction and conceptual demand, in terms of the complexity of scientific
competences and knowledge, were selected for analysis, and, in the second case, the relation
between science and metascience, as discourses of the same discipline (intradisciplinarity),
was selected. Intradisciplinarity was also considered when appreciating the conceptual
demand of the curriculum3. The selection of these dimensions derived from results of former
studies carried out by the ESSA Group (e.g. Domingos, 1989; Morais, Neves & Pires, 2004)
and by other authors (e.g. McComas, Clough & Almazroa, 1998), who all have highlighted
their importance in the promotion of high levels of scientific literacy. The form how the OPD
is explicated to teachers in the Ministry of Education/Teachers relation (evaluation criteria)
was also part of the analysis of the OPD message. It should be noted that the Portuguese
educational system is a centralised system. Figure 1 shows a schematic overview of the
relations analyzed in the study.
Figure 1. Diagram of the relations analyzed in the research (Ferreira, 2007).
2
The part of the study presented in this paper is focused on the message of the OPD with
respect to the process of science construction and to intra-disciplinary relations between
scientific and metascientific knowledge4. The study addressed the following problem: What is
the extent to which the sociological message transmitted by the OPD of the science
curriculum considers the nature of science? The following research questions derived from
this problem: (1) What is the extent to which the OPD present in the two curricular texts
(Essential Competences and Curriculum Guidelines) contains the process of science
construction and the intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific
knowledge?; and (2) What is the extent and direction of the recontextualization process that
may have occurred when passing from the Essential Competences to the Curriculum
Guidelines?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The study is mostly based on epistemology and sociology namely Ziman’s theorization of
science construction (1984, 2000) and Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse (1999,
2000). According to Bernstein, the pedagogic discourse is determined by a complex of
relations that are a consequence of the intervention of different fields and contexts, from the
State field at the macro-level to the classroom at the micro-level.
The General Regulative Discourse (GRD) is produced in the State field as a result of the
influence of the international field, the economy field (physical resources) and the field of
symbolic control (discursive resources). The official recontextualising field (represented by
the Ministry of Education and its agencies) is a field where the GRD is recontextualised to
produce the official pedagogic discourse which is institutionalised in texts namely syllabuses
and curricula. Such recontextualising process is also influenced by the field of economy, the
intellectual field of education (part of the field of symbolic control) and the international field
and also and mostly by authors’ ideologies. According to Neves and Morais (2001):
“The message of this official text contains the principles and norms which constitute the general regulative
discourse that characterizes a given socio-political context. However, as a pedagogic text, it also carries a
message that reflects a set of options considered adequate to a given educational context, which are they
themselves influenced by the various fields.” (p.226).
These options include, among others: the knowledge and competences to be acquired; the
nature of relations between the various types of knowledge within a discipline (intradisciplinary relation) and between the various types of knowledge of the discipline and the
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knowledge of other disciplines of the curriculum (interdisciplinary relation); the form of
pedagogic interaction that should be present in the teacher-student relation (privileged model
of theory of instruction). These options define the what and the how of the OPD, that is, the
discourses to be transmitted and the form how these discourses are to be transmitted in the
teaching-learning context. The model shows that the pedagogic discourse is not the
mechanical result of the dominant principles of society, since recontextualizations may occur
at the various levels of the pedagogic device. These recontextualizations create spaces of
change and for that reason the discourse that is produced (OPD) and the discourse that is
reproduced in the classroom do not correspond strictly to the general regulative discourse.
The pedagogical discourse transmits, as a sociological message, specific power and control
relations between the following categories: spaces (teacher-student space and student-student
space), discourses (between disciplines, within a discipline and academic-non academic) and
subjects (Ministry of Education-teacher, teacher-student and student-student). These relations
reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, the relations legitimized by the underlying GRD,
depending on the recontextualization process that has occurred. In order to analyze power and
control relations, Bernstein (1990, 2000) used, respectively, the concepts of classification and
framing. Classification refers to the degree of maintenance of boundaries between categories
(subjects, spaces, discourses). The more distinct the separation between categories the
stronger classification will be. Framing refers to the social relations between categories, that
is, to communication between them. Framing is strong when the categories with higher status
(e.g. Ministry of Education) have the control in the relation and is weak when the categories
with lower status (e.g. teachers) have also some control in the relation. Classification and
framing can, within given limits, vary independently, for example, a strong classification can
coexist with a weak framing.
Bernstein’s theory opens up new and promising ways of looking at curriculum (OPD)
construction. In the case of the part of the study described in this article it allows to appreciate
with more rigor the relative status that is accorded by curriculum authors to the nature of
science discourse (in its various dimensions) in relation to the science knowledge discourse
and how explicit are directions given to teachers and textbook authors. It also allows to
appreciate the recontextualizing processes that may occur within the official recontextualizing
field, that is in the Ministry of Education. The consequences for teachers’ practices and
students’ scientific literacy can then be explored on a more sound basis.
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This study follows Ziman’s conceptualization of science construction (1984). According to
this author, science should be faced as a social institution with four main metascientific
dimensions: philosophical, historical, psychological and sociological.
The philosophical dimension of science emphasizes the methodological aspects of science,
that is, the methods used by scientists when doing science. "The philosophy of science
analyses theories about science construction, the conditions that validate them and the various
scientific methods used" (Fontes & Silva, 2004, p.18). These methods include, for example,
observation, experimentation and theorizing, and are considered by Ziman (1984) as elements
of a specific method of obtaining reliable information about the natural world.
The historical dimension of science emphasizes its aspect of archive – the accumulation of
scientific knowledge, organized into coherent theoretical schemes and divulged in
publications is a historical process with special meaning. Scientific knowledge becomes
meaningful when it is made public, therefore allowing to restructure universal theoretical
schemes and use them for the benefit of humanity (Ziman, 1984). Thus, the historical
dimension presents science as a dynamic activity which evolves over time.
The psychological dimension of science focuses on the psychological characteristics of
scientists which influence their scientific work. It should be noted that, since science is a
human activity and therefore subject to the constraints of human nature, it may entail, as any
other activity, correct or less correct procedures (Ziman, 1984).
The sociological dimension of science entails two sub-dimensions, the internal sociological
and the external sociological dimensions. The first involves the social relations that are
established and operate within the scientific community. The second is related to scientific
production in its relations to the various social actors. With regard to the internal sociological
dimension of science, Ziman (1984) notes that scientists are part of a scientific community,
establishing social interactions with each other as scientists. Thus, scientists communicate
with each other, sharing perspectives and experimental results that lead them to constantly
restructure their work, to find new ways of research in an enterprise that is increasingly a
collaborative process instead of an isolated activity. With regard to the external sociological
dimension of science, science is seen as a social institution, embedded in society and carrying
out specific functions for society. From this point of view, the worldwide known STS
(interaction between science, technology and society) may be considered as part of this
dimension of Ziman’s conceptualization of science construction (1984). Thus, the present
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study departs from other authors (e.g. Aikenhead, 2000; Santos, 1999)5, and regards the
relation STS as the external sociological dimension of science.
When studying the introduction of science construction in scientific learning, it is important
to be aware of the difference between the structure of the two types of knowledge, scientific
and metascientific. According to Bernstein (1999), we can say that metascientific knowledge
corresponds to a discourse with a horizontal structure, characterized by a series of parallel
languages, and its development is achieved through the construction of a new language, with
a new set of questions and relations and highly classified in relation to other pre-existing
languages. Scientific knowledge has a hierarchical structure, in which development is
achieved through the selection and integration of different concepts in order to achieve a
common body of knowledge with higher level of abstraction and explanatory power. The
scientific what of science education is knowledge with a hierarchical structure, whereas the
metascientific what is knowledge with a horizontal structure.
METHODOLOGY
General aspects
The study made use of a mixed methodology which combines features associated with both
qualitative and quantitative approaches (Creswell, 2003; Morais & Neves, 2010; Tashakkori
& Teddlie, 1998). A quantitative approach was followed when, for example, in the analysis of
curricular texts, several categories and indicators were previously defined on the basis of
theory. However, a qualitative approach was also followed whenever empirical data gave a
contribution to the definition of categories and indicators.
The study followed a dialectical process between the theoretical and the empirical. In this
way, we reject the empirical analysis without a theoretical basis and the use of a theory that
does not permit its transformation on the basis of the empirical. This dialectics was only
possible because the study used an external language of description derived from a powerful
internal language of description, as the one created by Bernstein (2000).
The analysis of the OPD of the Natural Sciences curriculum for the Portuguese middle school
was focused on two curricular texts: National curriculum for basic school – Essential
competences (DEB, 2001), particularly the section devoted to competences for Physical and
Natural Sciences; and Curriculum guidelines for basic school (DEB, 2002), specifically the
section devoted to the discipline of Natural Sciences. The analysis was centred on the theme
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"Sustainability in the Earth”. The analysis required that the whole text of both documents
related to that theme was segmented into units of analysis: 76 units of analysis in the case of
the Essential Competences (pages 129 to 135 and 140 to 143) and 91 units in the case of the
Curriculum Guidelines (pages 4 to 10 and 22 to 30). A unit of analysis was considered as an
excerpt of the curricular text, with one or more periods, which together have a particular
semantic meaning (Gall, Borg & Gall, 1996). Whenever lists of items were present in the
curricular text, as in the case of competences and learning activities, each one of the items
was considered as a unit of analysis. Each scheme/diagram was considered as a unit of
analysis.
The study of the OPD of the Natural Sciences curriculum, with regard to the nature of
science, followed the diagram of Figure 2. The analysis was focused on the instructional
dimension of the transmission/acquisition context, that is, on the discourses (knowledge and
competences) to be transmitted/acquired, and considered two aspects: the what the Ministry of
Education legitimates as the OPD of the curriculum, related to the discourses to be
transmitted/ acquired; and the how these discourses are to be transmitted in the teachinglearning context, related to the principles that regulate the transmission/acquisition of the
discourses. The study was also focused on the Ministry of Education-teacher relation.
Figure 2. Scheme of analysis of the nature of science in the Natural Sciences curriculum.
7
The analysis of the what of the OPD present in the curriculum was focused on the
characterization of the knowledge related to science construction (metascientific knowledge)
and respective level of complexity. The analysis of the how of the OPD was focused on the
relation between discourses by analyzing specifically the degree of relation between scientific
and metascientific knowledge. These intra-disciplinary relations were characterized by using
the concept of classification. The Ministry of Education-teacher relation was also studied by
analyzing the degree of control given by the Ministry of Education to teachers – degree of
explicitness of OPD – with regard to metascientific knowledge and to the relation between
scientific and metascientific knowledge. The degree of explicitness was characterized by the
concept of framing. The part of the study presented in this paper is focused on the message of
the OPD with respect to the metascientific knowledge and the relations between scientific and
metascientific knowledge.
Instruments construction and application
In order to carry out the analysis of the OPD of the two texts – Essential Competences and
Curriculum Guidelines – instruments6 were constructed, piloted and applied. These
instruments were based on models/ instruments constructed in former studies of the ESSA
Group for the analysis of science curricula (e.g. Castro, 2006). For each one of the aspects
under study, the instruments were organized to contain the four main sections usually present
in any syllabus: (a) Knowledge; (b) Aims; (c) Methodological Guidelines; and (d) Evaluation.
Thus, each unit of analysis was associated with one of those four sections and analyzed by
using the various instruments constructed. This was a joint task of three researchers validated
later on by two other researchers.
The description of the instruments starts with the instruments related to the characterization of
science construction and respective explanation, followed by the instruments focused on the
relation between scientific and metascientific knowledge and respective explanation.
Characterization of the process of science construction
In order to characterize the process of science construction two instruments were constructed:
(1) instrument for characterizing the process of science construction, in terms of the
conceptualization level of metascientific knowledge; and (2) instrument with knowledge and
8
cognitive competences related to science construction dimensions, as conceptualized by
Ziman (1984, 2000).
The first instrument (Instrument 1) was constructed taking into consideration the nature and
complexity of metascientific knowledge, as well as the development of competences related
to metascience. Both knowledge and competences were considered at the level of the main
dimensions of science construction suggested by Ziman (1984): philosophical, historical,
psychological, external sociological and internal sociological.
This instrument included the four sections considered in the study (knowledge, aims,
methodological guidelines and evaluation) and each section contained descriptors
corresponding to four degrees of complexity of metascientific knowledge, for each dimension
of science construction. A four degree scale was made on the basis of the following criteria:
Degree 1 – corresponds to the absence of knowledge related to the dimension of science construction under
analysis, and also to the absence of competences associated with that dimension.
Degree 2 – may correspond to one of three distinct situations: (i) reference to simple order knowledge related to
the dimension of science construction under analysis, but without using that knowledge to develop
competences associated with that dimension; (ii) reference to competences development, but with no
relation to the process of science construction; or (iii) reference to simple order knowledge, and
simultaneously to the development of competences associated with the dimension of science
construction under analysis.
Degree 3 – corresponds to complex order knowledge related to the dimension of science construction under
analysis, but without using that knowledge to the development of competences associated with that
dimension.
Degree 4 – corresponds to complex order knowledge and, simultaneously, to the development of competences
associated with the dimension of science construction under analysis.
According to this four degree scale, the lowest degree is the least desirable for a science
education that promotes a high level of scientific literacy and the highest degree is the most
desirable. It should be noticed that the various situations presented in the degree 2 descriptor
came out of a former exploratory analysis of the units of analysis of both curricular texts. The
second part the descriptor is a consequence of the fact that the curriculum frequently indicates
the development of competences (e.g. investigative) without relating them to the process of
science construction.
Table I presents an excerpt of this instrument, for the section Knowledge and for the external
sociological dimension, and examples of units of analysis of the curriculum which illustrate
different degrees of complexity.
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Table I. Characterization of the process of science construction - Excerpt of the Instrument 1
Section
Dimensions of
Science
Knowledge
External
sociological
dimension
Degree 1
Degree 2
Degree 3
Degree 4
Knowledge related to
the external sociological
dimension of science is
not mentioned nor are
mentioned competences
associated with this
dimension
Simple order knowledge
related to the external
sociological dimension
of science is mentioned,
but that knowledge is
not used in the
development of
competences associated
with this dimension;
and/or
Development of
competences related to
the external sociological
dimension of science is
mentioned but with no
relation to the process of
science construction.
Complex order
knowledge related to the
external sociological
dimension of science is
mentioned, but that
knowledge is not used
in the development of
competences associated
with this dimension.
Complex order
knowledge related to the
external sociological
dimension of science is
mentioned as is the
development of
competences associated
to this dimension.
Units of analysis:
Degree 1: “With respect to the cycles of matter, it is not intended to analyze the various biogeochemical cycles,
but to highlight the existence in communities of groups of living things with activities in a way
complementary (producers, consumers and decomposers), which enable the permanent recycling of
matter.” (Curriculum Guidelines, pp.23-24).
Degree 4: “[...] by understanding the potentialities and limits of Science and of its technological applications in
Society. On the other hand, it allows one to become aware of the scientific, technological and social
meaning of human intervention on Earth and this may constitute an important dimension in terms of a
desirable education for citizenship.” (Essential Competences, p.134).
The need of both a referential and consistency when applying Instrument 1 required the
construction of an auxiliary instrument (Instrument 2). This instrument contained lists of
various types of knowledge of simple and complex order and also of cognitive competences,
all related to the various dimensions of science construction (Ziman, 1984, 2000). When
developing this definition, simple order knowledge included generalized facts and simple
concepts and complex order knowledge included complex concepts and unifying themes.
The competences related to metascience were defined in association with particular
dimensions of science construction and by reference to the science field rather than to any one
knowledge field, the instrument was designed to analyse science curricula. However, it should
be noted that some of the competences selected may also be developed within disciplines
other than science. Competences were not grouped in terms of degree of complexity,
something that is considered as a limitation of the study. Analysis of competences was
restricted to the cognitive domain, therefore excluding the social and emotional competences.
Table II shows an excerpt of the instrument for case of the external sociological dimension.
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Table II. Knowledge and cognitive competences of science construction dimensions – Excerpt of the Instrument 2
External Sociological Dimension
Simple order knowledge:
Cognitive competences:
Scientific observation is more rigorous with the invention of
more complex technologies – Technology and Science relation.
Development of critical thinking: selection, analysis and
critical evaluation of scientific information in real social
situations; reflection of scientific arguments on
controversial social issues.
The evolution of scientific knowledge allows the development of
new technologies – Science and Technology relation.
Complex order knowledge:
The application of science to society has both positive and
negative effects (political, social, economic and ethical), at short
and long term – Science and Society relation.
Development of communication competences:
understanding, interpretation and synthesis of scientific
information disseminated by the media.
The use of science and technology in solving social, personal
and environmental problems has potentialities and limitations –
S-T-S relation.
Intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific knowledge
In order to characterize the intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific
knowledge, an instrument was constructed to evaluate the degree of relation between
scientific and metascientific knowledge (Instrument 3). This relation was given by a four
degree scale of classification (C++, C+, C-, C- -) with an increasing degree of relation.
Table III presents an excerpt of this instrument for the section Aims. This is followed by
examples of units of analysis of the curricular texts which illustrate different levels of
classification with regard to intra-disciplinary relations.
Table III. Evaluation of the degree of relation between scientific and metascientific knowledge – Excerpt of the
Instrument 3
C++
Section
Aims
The aims are only focused
on scientific knowledge.
Or
The aims are only focused
on metascientific
knowledge.
C+
C-
C- -
The aims are focused on
scientific and metascientifc
knowledge, but do not make
the relation between them.
The aims are focused on the
relation between scientific
and metascientific
knowledge, being given
higher status to scientific
knowledge in this relation.
The aims are focused on the
relation between scientific
and metascientific
knowledge, being given
equal status to these two
types of knowledge in this
relation.
Units of analysis:
Degree C++-1st part: “With respect to this subject, students interpretation of the various examples of interactions
should be valued, benefits and losses to living beings involved being identified, rather than the simple
application of terminology.” (Curriculum Guidelines, p.23).
Degree C- -: “Recognition of the need for treatment of waste materials in order to prevent their accumulation,
considering the economic, environmental, political and ethical dimensions.” (Essential Competences,
p.143).
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The application of each one of the instruments to all units of analysis of both curricular texts
of Natural Sciences was followed by the analysis of the results, where each text was analyzed
separately.
ANALYSIS OF DATA
Characterization of the process of science construction
In order to characterize the process of science construction contained in the two curricular
texts under study, the relative frequency (in percentage) of the excerpts analyzed was
determined according to the four degree scale and considering each one of the metascientific
dimensions. The graph of Figure 3 shows the results of this analysis for the philosophical
dimension. Results are organized by considering each one of the four sections of the curricular
texts separately and the sections taken together.
The graph of Figure 3 shows that, when both curricular texts are considered as a whole, most
of the excerpts analyzed do not include knowledge of the philosophical dimension of science
construction and do not also consider the development of metascientific competences
associated with this dimension (degree 1). Most of the excerpts classified with degree 2
correspond to the second part of the respective descriptor, that is, the excerpts indicate the
development of competences associated with the philosophical dimension of science but do
not indicate their relation to the respective metascientific knowledge. This global trend was
also found in the various sections of the curriculum, with the exception of the Methodological
Guidelines, where degree 2 overcomes slightly degree 1. This was mainly a consequence of
the fact that strategies suggested in this section focused only on competences rather than on
knowledge associated with the philosophical dimension of science. The excerpts that follow
illustrate this fact:
“Develop experimental work and have the opportunity to use different tools of observation and measurement.
[…] hypothesis formulation and results prediction, observation and explanation should take place” (Essential
Competences, pp.131-132)
“Within the study of this topic, experimental activities can also be done in order to observe, for example, the
influence of light on plant development.” (Curriculum Guidelines, p.22)
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Figure 3. Philosophical dimension of science in the Natural Sciences curriculum: Essential Competences (EC)
and Curricular Guidelines (CG).
Figure 3 also shows that degree 3 only occurs in the excerpts of the Essential Competences
text – there are excerpts in the Knowledge section where it is mentioned complex order
knowledge related to the philosophical dimension of science. It should be noted, however,
that this section includes few excerpts with only one of them being classified with degree 3.
When the Knowledge and Aims sections are considered, a slight decreasing of the valuing of
the philosophical dimension occurs, when passing from the Essential Competences (the
general principles) to the Curriculum Guidelines (the specific principles to the discipline).
In the case of the Evaluation section, the Essential Competences text does not contain any
excerpts that focus on the assessment of metascientific knowledge and competences. The
small number of excerpts of that section in the Curriculum Guidelines text do not allow any
conclusions. The same happened when analyzing the other dimensions of science.
Data from the analysis of the historical dimension of science shows that, when both curricular
texts are considered in their entirety, the vast majority of the excerpts analyzed did not include
either knowledge or metascientific competences associated to this dimension (degree 1 –
around 80%). All excerpts classified with degree 2 correspond to the second part of the
description for this degree, that is, these excerpts point out to the development of competences
associated to the historical dimension of science but not to its relation to the construction of
science. The only section that contains some complex order knowledge (degree 3 – 6%) is the
Aims section in the Essential Competences text.
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The case of the psychological dimension of science is an extreme case because both
knowledge and competences related to this dimension are virtually absent – 99% of the
excerpts were classified with degree 1. The only excerpt classified with degree 2 is included
in the section Methodological Guidelines and corresponds to the first part of the description of
this degree, that is, this excerpt is restricted to the transmission/acquisition of knowledge of a
simple order.
Data from the analysis of the internal sociological dimension of science shows that, when
both curricular texts are analyzed in their entirety, the vast majority of the excerpts did not
include either knowledge or competences related to this dimension (degree 1 – about 80%).
All excerpts classified with degree 2 correspond to competences related to this dimension.
In the case of the external sociological dimension of science construction (Figure 4), the data
shows that in both curricular texts, and in opposition to other dimensions of science, degree 1
is absent of most of the excerpts analyzed. A greater emphasis is now given to metascientific
knowledge of a simple order (degree 2) and of a complex order (degrees 3 and 4), as well as
to the development of competences (degrees 2 and 4). This shows that the theme
‘Sustainability in the Earth’ of the Natural Sciences curriculum accords to the external
sociological dimension higher status and higher degree of complexity in the context of the
science construction learning.
Figure 4. External sociological dimension of science in Natural Sciences curriculum: Essential Competences
(EC) and Curricular Guidelines (CG).
There is a relative devaluing of the external sociological dimension when passing from the
Essential Competences text to the Curriculum Guidelines text, in the case of the Knowledge
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and Aims sections. This, however, should be read by taking into account that the number of
excerpts differs in the two curricular texts – much lesser excerpts in the Knowledge section of
the Essential Competences and much lesser excerpts in the Aims section of Curriculum
Guidelines. In the case of the Methodological Guidelines section, it should be noted that the
complexity of knowledge of the external sociological dimension is higher in the Curriculum
Guidelines. This is of particular importance since this is the section that is more represented in
this curricular text.
Intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific knowledge
The graph of Figure 5 shows the results of the analysis of the intra-disciplinary relations
between scientific and metascientific knowledge. The global results show that half of the
excerpts of the Essential Competences text and most of the excerpts of the Curriculum
Guidelines text do not make any relation between scientific and metascientific knowledge
(C++). Most of these excerpts refer only to scientific knowledge. The results also show that the
frequency of excerpts C- (higher status of scientific knowledge) is higher in the Curriculum
Guidelines text whereas the frequency of excerpts C-- (equal status of scientific and
metascientific knowledge) is higher in the Essential Competences text. The situation of
excerpts containing scientific and metascientific knowledge but with no relation between
them (C+) is absent in both curricular texts.
Figure 5. Intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific knowledge in Natural Sciences
curriculum: Essential Competences (EC) and Curricular Guidelines (CG).
15
This global trend changes when the sections of the curriculum are observed separately. In the
Knowledge section of both texts degree C++ does not now predominate and more emphasis is
given to degree C-
-
in the Essential Competences excerpts and an identical frequency of
degrees C++, C- and C- - in the Curriculum Guidelines excerpts. This seems to be mostly a
consequence of authors attempt to relate knowledge of the external sociological dimension of
science to scientific knowledge, when addressing the theme ‘Sustainability in the Earth’. In
the Aims section there is a relative devaluing of the intra-disciplinary relations between
scientific and metascientific knowledge when passing from the Essential Competences text
(the general principles) to the Curriculum Guidelines text (the specific principles to the
discipline). However, this aspect should be read by taking into account that the number of
excerpts analyzed in this section is much lesser in the Curriculum Guidelines text. Excerpts of
the Methodological Guidelines section of both curricular texts had a very analogous
distribution. In this section the Curriculum Guidelines text keeps the global trend, but the
Essential Competences text shows a higher frequency of degrees C++ and C- and a lower
frequency of C- - when compared with global results.
With regard to the Evaluation section, as it was mentioned before in the characterization of
the process of science construction, the Essential Competences text did not focus on the
assessing of scientific and/or metascientific knowledge. The Curriculum Guidelines text
contained only two excerpts to be analyzed in this section, but assessment of this intradisciplinary relation would not be expected (degree C++).
CONCLUSIONS
The article intended to divulge methods and concepts for analyzing the nature of science in
science curricula. With this purpose an exemplary study was described. This study analyzed
the sociological message transmitted by the Official Pedagogical Discourse of the Natural
Science curriculum for Portuguese middle school, on the theme ‘Sustainability in the Earth’,
with regard to characteristics of the teaching-learning process related to science construction –
metascientific dimensions and intradisciplinarity between scientific and metascientific
knowledge. The analysis intended also to appreciate the recontextualization that may have
occurred between the two main documents of the curriculum, the Essential Competences (the
general principles) and the Curriculum Guidelines (the specific principles to the discipline).
At another level, the study intended to explore empirically Bernstein’s model of pedagogic
discourse (1990, 2000).
16
If the level of students’ scientific literacy recommended by current perspectives of science
education is considered, the study raises serious concerns, particularly related to the deficient
coverage of the process of science construction in the curriculum and to the weak intradisciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific knowledge. These concerns are
directly associated with the low level of conceptualization of the learning recommended, but
also with the low explicitness of the characteristics studied (Ferreira, 2007).
With regard to the process of science construction, the results showed that, although the
Natural Sciences curriculum (the case of the theme ‘Sustainability in the Earth’) focuses on
the five dimensions of science construction as conceptualized by Ziman (1984), this
curriculum attributes to them differentiated status. In fact, the OPD of the science curriculum
gives to the methodology of science a lower status than it gives to the external sociology of
science but a somehow higher status than it gives to the internal sociology and history of
science. The influence of scientists’ psychological characteristics on science construction was
almost ignored. These conclusions parallel the findings of a study by Calado and Neves
(forthcoming) focused on the theme ‘Living Better on Earth’ (9th year of schooling, age 15) of
the same curriculum.
The external sociological dimension came out as the science dimension that has the highest
status in both curricular texts, something that may be related to the S-T-S relation mostly
valued by the authors of the curriculum7. The highest status of this dimension is evident not
only by its greater representation in the science curriculum, but also by the greater complexity
of the knowledge of this dimension. Thus, the science curriculum advocates a students’
learning with a higher level of conceptualization in the case of the external sociology of
science when compared with the other dimensions.
As to the philosophical dimension, most of the curricular text containing this dimension was
only focused on competences to be developed within the methodology of science, without
making any relation to the respective knowledge. These competences correspond to
investigative competences which the curriculum, both in general and specific guidelines,
aimed to be developed by students when doing practical activities without, however, relating
them to the process of science construction. Thus, the results showed that the level of
conceptualization of the science curriculum, with regard to the methodology of science, is
very low. In this way the curriculum gives a limited view of what science education should be
with respect of promoting the relation between products and processes of science.
17
In the case of the internal sociology of science, the text of the curriculum was only focused on
competences with no relation to knowledge (e.g. concepts) of this dimension. This was also
the pattern in most of the curricular text related to the historical dimension of science.
The psychological dimension of science is limited to a reference within a general guideline,
where authors make a general statement in both curricular texts about epistemological
knowledge. It seems that curriculum authors found difficulties to give suggestions to
implement that general reference, something that would be particularly crucial in the case of
the Curriculum Guidelines. However, it is possible to think that the authors might have
decided to assign a low status to this metascientific dimension.
Summarizing, the results of this study show not only that science construction is mostly
absent in the curriculum but show also a low level of conceptualization of the science
curriculum with reference to science construction. One of the many possible explanatory
hypotheses to this fact is related to the horizontal structure of metascientific knowledge
(Bernstein, 1999) that, differing from the hierarchical structure of scientific knowledge, may
raise difficulties to authors of science curricula in terms of making that kind of knowledge
operational.
These results depart from the results of a study by McComas and Olson (1998), which
analyzed eight international science curricula of the nineties (twentieth century) in terms of
the process of science construction. The philosophical and historical dimensions were the
dimensions that had a higher status in these curricula. The psychological dimension was the
dimension with lower status approximating in this aspect to the Portuguese curriculum. Thus,
the curriculum change that is taking place in Portugal is going in the direction of valuing the
external sociological dimension of science. This movement that started already with many
curricula of the last decades of the past century departed from the changes that occurred
internationally in the sixties and seventies when many curricular projects, wanting to
introduce science construction in science education, placed the emphasis on the philosophical
and historical dimensions (e.g. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study – BSCS, 1970).
The results showed that recontextualization processes occurred, when passing from the
general guidelines to the specific guidelines of the curriculum, in the direction of decreasing
the relative value accorded to the process of science construction. This is evidenced in the
case of the historical and philosophical dimensions, when the complex order knowledge
present occasionally in the Essential Competences is absent in the Curriculum Guidelines.
18
Also in the case of the external sociological dimension, the complex order knowledge
associated with this dimension is more represented in the Essential Competences.
Unlike other studies focused on the analysis of science curricula (e.g. BouJoude, 2002; Neves,
Morais, Peneda & Medeiros, 1999), the differences between the sociological message of the
general intentions of the curriculum and the specific guidelines of the discipline were not very
marked in the Natural Sciences curriculum under study, with reference to the theme
‘Sustainability in the Earth’ and to the characteristics studied. An explanatory hypothesis for
the relative continuity between the two curricular texts is that both documents were
constructed by a team of authors, who although not being exactly the same, kept in the team
the authors who had more weight whenever curricular decisions were taken8.
With regard to the intradisciplinarity between scientific and metascientific knowledge, the
results showed that although there are in some cases intra-disciplinary relations, it is their
absence that predominates in both curricular texts. In the study carried out by Calado and
Neves (forthcoming), which is focused on the theme ‘Living Better on Earth’ of the same
curriculum, that absence is even more marked, prevailing well defined boundaries between
the two knowledge domains.
Whenever intra-disciplinary relations occur between scientific and metascientific knowledge,
these relations were mostly of the kind where the two types of knowledge have equal status,
with little curricular text according greater status to scientific knowledge. This is the opposite
of what should occur in a science curriculum where scientific knowledge should have greater
status. The authors consider that the situation that better represents a good scientific learning,
significantly supported by the understanding and application of metascientific knowledge,
would be the one where the scientific domain has higher status in the relation between
scientific and metascientific knowledge (degree C-). This raises the hypothesis that the reason
why the authors of this curriculum accorded equal status to both types of knowledge in most
of the curricular text may be related to a intention of departing from previous Portuguese
curricula of Natural Sciences and therefore making quite clear the importance of including the
process of science construction in science education. The degree of recontextualization
between the two curricular texts was not significant with reference to this specific
characteristic of scientific learning. These findings are in line with those obtained by Calado
and Neves (forthcoming) for the theme ‘Living Better on Earth.’
The Ministry of Education leaves implicit, even when they are present, the metascientific
knowledge to be learned, as well the intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and
19
metascientific knowledge (Ferreira, 2007), giving therefore more autonomy to teachers in the
management of the curriculum, namely on the what and on the how of the teaching of
metascience. This large area of intervention accorded to teachers may raise problems,
particularly by allowing a greater recontextualization of the OPD when it passes from the
curriculum to the classroom. This is of particular importance if we consider that the absence
of explicit criteria with respect to the curriculum to be implemented in schools may lead
teachers and textbook authors9, especially those who have scientific and pedagogic
deficiencies, to be unable to build on their own, a curriculum that takes into account research
findings about the importance of introducing metascience in scientific learning. Thus, the
teacher, in the absence of an education that allows him/her to reflect on the significance of the
sociological messages contained in the curriculum, may subvert the space of intervention that
is given to him/her in a situation of greater control. This is evidenced by Hipkins, Barker and
Bolstad (2005) when they focus on the lack of explicitness of the science curriculum in New
Zealand, with regard to the process of science construction. According to these authors, the
intention was that the teachers had more autonomy in interpreting the curriculum, but this
absence of guidance has led teachers to focus science construction on the science and
technology relation only10. Thus the authors consider that, if teachers are to promote an
efficient scientific learning, explicit criteria are needed with regard at least to the knowledge
and competences to be developed and to the conceptual relation between distinct types of
knowledge. This is well discussed by Neves and Morais (2006) when they say:
“The distinct understanding by teachers/schools of what an efficient learning is, in terms of the specificities of
students, schools and their geographic contexts, may constrain, in a context of curriculum flexibility, the success
of the reform with regard to the success of all students. In order that the quality of education stands for all
students, to make the curriculum flexible does not mean to leave to teachers/schools the selection of the concepts
and competences to be learned and of the strategies to be implemented, but the selection, in terms of students
specificities, of activities which allow that all of them have access to the same concepts/competences and are
exposed to strategies that appeal to similar levels of conceptual demand.” (p.90).
In spite of the problems it may raise, this large space of intervention given to teachers may
also have potentialities which will primarily depend on the scientific and pedagogical
education of teachers but also on their teaching-learning conceptions, developed along their
professional development. Thus, better educated teachers may have a space of control that
allows them to develop science learning processes with a higher level of conceptual demand,
by integrating the nature of science in science education.
20
The mode of analysis used in the study has the potential of highlighting the level of a science
curriculum in terms of specific aspects of the nature of science. The discrimination of various
dimensions of science construction, according to Ziman’s conceptualization, together with the
detail offered by Bernstein’s theory to study relations between discourses and agents and also
recontextualizing processes, allowed a fine analysis of the curriculum.
NOTES
1. ESSA Group: Sociological Studies of the Classroom – research group which is part of the Centre for
Educational Research of the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon.
2. The broader research related to the process of curricular reorganization was focused on the Biology themes of
the two curricular documents: “Sustainability in the Earth” for the 8th year and “Living Better on Earth” for the
9th year of schooling. This corresponds to 75% of the Essential Competences pages and 71% of the
Curriculum Guidelines pages of the Natural Sciences curriculum for middle school. Only the Geology themes
for the 7th year were not analyzed. An overview of this part of the curriculum shows that there is a similar
trend to the one found in the analyzed parts with regard to the presence of the nature of science.
3. The concept of conceptual demand was introduced by Domingos (1989) and it was related to the complexity
of competences. Further studies of the ESSA Group (e.g. Morais, Neves & Pires, 2004) considered the
complexity of competences and scientific knowledge to characterize the level of conceptual demand. The
concept evolved to include the complexity of scientific competences and knowledge and also the strength of
intra-disciplinary relations. This is the concept that was used in the broader study of which the study presented
in this article is a part.
4. The analysis of the extent to which the text of the curriculum is made explicit to teachers and textbook authors
was taken out of the article in order to meet referees suggestions. However its results are referred in the
conclusions.
5. Aikenhead (2000) considers that STS includes all dimensions of Ziman’s conceptualization of science
construction (1984). For him the STS content includes the interaction between science and technology, or
between science and society, or also any of the following aspects: society issues related to science or
technology, and issues of philosophy, history or sociology of science.
6. See instruments in Ferreira (2007).
Also available online on < http://essa.ie.ul.pt/researchmat_instruments_ text.htm>.
7. Ideological and pedagogical principles of the authors of the Natural Sciences curriculum were the object of a
specific study (Ferreira, Morais & Neves, 2011).
8. See note 7.
9. Complementary to the curriculum analysis, Calado and Neves (forthcoming) analysed two portuguese
textbooks for the Natural Sciences theme “Living Better on Earth” and the results of their study showed that
science construction and the relation between scientific and metascientific knowledge are mostly absent in the
textbooks. This combined with teachers own recontextualizations of a deficient Natural Science curricula,
when the nature of science is considered, may play a role in maintaining naïve views. In fact, the study carried
out by Alves and Morais (forthcoming), within the same research project, showed that the two teachers who
participated implemented a practice in the classroom where metascientific knowledge and its relation to
scientific knowledge were absent.
10. Some studies (e.g. Halai & McNicholl, 2004; McComas, Clough & Almazroa, 1998) have also shown that
science teachers do not possess adequate conceptions of the nature of science. As referred by Lederman (2007),
“Students’ and teachers’ understandings of NOS remain a high priority for science education and science
education research” (p.832).
21
A former version of this article was published in Portuguese by the journal Revista Portuguesa de Educação.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors acknowledge to the Foundation for Science and Technology for the financing of the research. They
are also grateful to Isabel Neves, Sílvia Calado and Vanda Alves for their contribution in the analysis of the
curriculum.
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24
The nature of science in science curricula: methods and concepts of analysis
Abstract
The article shows methods and concepts of analysis of the nature of science in science curricula
through an exemplary study made in Portugal. The study analyses the extent to which the message
transmitted by the Natural Science curriculum for Portuguese middle school considers the nature of
science. It is epistemologically and sociologically grounded with particular emphasis on Bernstein’s
theory of pedagogic discourse and Ziman’s conceptualization of science construction. The study used
a mixed methodology and followed a dialectical process between the theoretical and the empirical.
The results show that the nature of science has a low status in the curriculum with the exception of the
external sociological dimension of science. Intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and
metascientific knowledge are mostly absent. Recontextualization processes occurred between the two
main parts of the curriculum. These results are discussed and their consequences in terms of scientific
learning are explored. The mode of analysis used in the study has the potential of highlighting the
level of a science curriculum, in terms of specific aspects of the nature of science.
Key words: Science education; Curricula; Nature of science; Intradisciplinarity.
25