IBSE Final

tHE tEACHING OF SCIENCE: 21 st-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES 159

Epilogue

Science Teachers as

21st-Century Leaders

Since early in the 21st century, when I began preparing the lectures that form

the heart of this book, there have been numerous and varied reports regarding

the education system, with recommendations directed toward the ultimate aim

of improving student achievement. Science teachers have heard about schools

making “adequate yearly progress,” systems closing the “achievement gap,”

and the country needing to “move to the top” on international assessments.

Achievement on national assessments and state tests have come to dominate

perceptions by the education community, including science teachers. Regardless

of the phrases used to express the aims, the goals require attaining higher levels

of achievement for all students.

The perspective in this book has centered on science teachers and issues

closely related to science teaching and student learning. For example, I addressed

themes such as fulfilling the goal of scientific literacy, reforming school science

programs, teaching science as inquiry, and improving science teachers’ knowl-

edge and skills. All of these themes relate directly to the instructional core and,

in the end, student achievement. Before turning to leadership, let me briefly

restate and clarify the challenges from the first chapter.

21st-Century Challenges

There are five challenges that the science education community has to confront

as we enter the second decade of the 21st century. Regardless of the current

terms, I argue that these challenges and the responses are at the heart of science

teaching, as they have been in the past and will continue to be in the future.

The challenges are

• achieving scientific literacy,

• reforming science programs,

• teaching science as inquiry,