Developing tomorrow's decision-makers: Opportunities for biotechnology education research

Hilton, A; Nichols, K; Kanasa, H

Developing tomorrow's decision-makers: Opportunities for biotechnology education research

Hilton, A

Nichols, K Kanasa, H

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Educational Researcher, 2011, 38 (4), pp. 449 - 465
Issue Date:: 2011-11-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	10.1007_s13384-011-0039-3.pdf	Published Version	248.96 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Hilton, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6638-0216	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Nichols, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kanasa, H	en_US
dc.date.issued	2011-11-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Educational Researcher, 2011, 38 (4), pp. 449 - 465	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0311-6999	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/114691
dc.description.abstract	Globally, science curricula have been described as outdated, and students perceive school science as lacking in relevance. Declines in senior secondary and tertiary student participation in science indicate an urgent need for change if we are to sustain future scientific research and development, and perhaps more importantly, to equip students with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions related to scientific research. This paper argues that a good starting point would be the inclusion of more contemporary areas of science in middle school curricula. One such area with continually emerging developments is biotechnology. This paper further argues the need for research into the impact of biotechnology education that would allow students to go beyond learning about biotechnological processes and products to explore their benefits and risks through an integrated approach, where biotechnology education were extended to include subject areas beyond science, such as social sciences, health education, and English. Such an approach is important, in light of research that suggests that the general public has a limited understanding of biotechnology and that public dissemination of information is insufficient to allow individuals to make informed decisions about or to develop attitudes towards, the varied applications of biotechnology. If we are to educate students to be tomorrow's informed decision-makers, we must start by addressing their understanding of and attitudes towards emerging sciences. Further research is needed to broaden our understanding of how to achieve these goals. © 2011 The Australian Association for Research in Education, Inc.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Educational Researcher	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s13384-011-0039-3	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education	en_US
dc.title	Developing tomorrow's decision-makers: Opportunities for biotechnology education research	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	38	en_US
utslib.for	130208 Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy	en_US
utslib.for	13 Education	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	38	en_US

Abstract:

Globally, science curricula have been described as outdated, and students perceive school science as lacking in relevance. Declines in senior secondary and tertiary student participation in science indicate an urgent need for change if we are to sustain future scientific research and development, and perhaps more importantly, to equip students with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions related to scientific research. This paper argues that a good starting point would be the inclusion of more contemporary areas of science in middle school curricula. One such area with continually emerging developments is biotechnology. This paper further argues the need for research into the impact of biotechnology education that would allow students to go beyond learning about biotechnological processes and products to explore their benefits and risks through an integrated approach, where biotechnology education were extended to include subject areas beyond science, such as social sciences, health education, and English. Such an approach is important, in light of research that suggests that the general public has a limited understanding of biotechnology and that public dissemination of information is insufficient to allow individuals to make informed decisions about or to develop attitudes towards, the varied applications of biotechnology. If we are to educate students to be tomorrow's informed decision-makers, we must start by addressing their understanding of and attitudes towards emerging sciences. Further research is needed to broaden our understanding of how to achieve these goals. © 2011 The Australian Association for Research in Education, Inc.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/114691