Previous studies on the analysis of

Chiappetta et al. (1991) analysed high school Biology textbooks for the NOS, using the conceptual framework adopted for my study. The themes “science as a body of knowledge” and “science as a way of investigating” were emphasised in the textbooks that were analysed, but science and its interaction with technology and society are given very little attention, and science as a way of thinking is not inherent in the high school Biology textbooks at all.

Lumpe and Becke (1996) analysed seven Biology textbooks for the NOS, and it was clear that the theme “science as a body of knowledge” was emphasised. However the theme “science and its interaction between technology and society” was lacking in the Biology textbooks.

Phillips and Chiappetta (2007) conducted a study on 12 middle school science textbooks for the NOS. The themes “science as a body of knowledge” and “science and its interaction with technology and society” were given little attention. It was noted that the themes “science as a way of thinking” and “science as a way of investigating” were emphasised.

Fillman (1989) analysed eleven Biology textbooks and reported that although all of the four themes were manifested in them, the theme “science as a body of knowledge” scored at the highest mean of 78%, while the theme “science as a way of investigating” scored the lowest, with a mean of 14%.

Table 2.2 displays whether, and to what extent, the four NOS themes used in my study were present in the textbooks analysed thus far.

28 TABLE 2.2: Summary of results on analysis of science textbooks for the nature of science

Key:

 Strongly infused: highest percentage of textbook devoted to this NOS theme

 Vaguely included: NOS theme included to an extent to promote NOS

 Partially included: NOS theme included, but not comprehensively described

 Not included: textbook not inclusive of this NOS theme

Researcher Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS

Fillman (1989) Strongly

infused Partially included Vaguely included Vaguely included Chiappetta et al. (1993) Strongly

infused Vaguely included Not included Partially included Lumpe & Becke (1996) Strongly

infused Partially included Partially included Not included Phillips & Chiappetta (2007) Strongly

infused Vaguely included Vaguely included Partially included

2.4.1.2. Discussion of the previous studies conducted

The four NOS themes as previously studied by the researchers above are discussed individually in this section. I have described the representation of the themes that are strongly infused. The knowledge NOS theme is strongly infused in all studies, therefore my discussion below focuses on how it relates to the other NOS themes in conveying an image of the NOS.

Science as a body of knowledge

It was concluded that the theme “science as a body of knowledge” is always covered substantially in all of the textbooks and is displayed as strongly infused in Table 2.2 (above). Whilst I agree that scientific knowledge is the foundation for more complex scientific content to be understood, the knowledge generation process must substantiate the scientific knowledge so that the learner using the textbook understands the NOS. In order to introduce inquiry learning into the classroom, knowledge is needed as a strong foundation upon which learners can make sense of their observations.

29 Science as a way of investigating

From Table 2.2 it is noticeable that the theme “science as a way of investigating” as compared to the remaining two is the only one that is prevalent in all textbooks, but in varying degrees. An important observation is that all textbook authors and curriculum developers recognise the role of investigation in the science classroom and in teaching and learning. However, the way in which it is presented in relationship to the other two themes is indicative of how the NOS is being communicated.

Science as a way of thinking

Studies on textbooks by Fillman (1989), Lumpe and Becke (1996), and Phillips and Chiappetta (2007) show that they have included the themes “science as a way of thinking” as well as “science as a way of investigating”, which shows that they have infused history and philosophy into the image of science. Chiappetta et al. (1991) note that the theme “science as a way of investigating” is included without the theme “science as a way of thinking”, which implies that only the philosophical dimension is included, and the historical dimension is absent. Learners using this textbook will not fully understand the NOS.

Interaction between science, technology and society

Fillman (1989) and Phillips and Chiappetta (2007), in their studies, show that all four themes of the NOS are manifested in the textbooks, which gives learners an idea of all of the dimensions of the NOS, namely, knowledge, philosophy, history and sociology. Lumpe and Becke (1996) reported that the study conducted did not include the interaction between science, technology and society, therefore learners using these textbooks will gain an incomplete understanding of the NOS, without the sociology dimension of the NOS. Chiappetta et al. (1991) confirm the interaction of science, technology and society, which includes the social dimension to science.

From Table 2.2 it is evident that two out of four books (50%) are inclusive of all four NOS themes, one (25%) lacks the historical dimension included in the theme “science as a way of thinking”, and the last (25%) shows a lack of the social dimension that is included in the investigative theme of the NOS.

30 2.5. THE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF NATURE OF SCIENCE

According to Chiappetta, Fillman and Sethna(1991; 2004), the four NOS themes include science as a body of knowledge; science as a way of investigating; science as a way of thinking; and the interaction between science with technology and society. The theme “science as a body of knowledge” includes the product of science that has been developed over many years, and this is the basis for understanding, reasoning and making sense of the scientific processes. The NOS investigative theme includes the inquiry processes of science necessary for testing scientific ideas and for the development of new knowledge. The theme “science as a way of thinking” demonstrates the human NOS. The manner in which science is used to understand technology and society plays an important role in individual decision- making. The all-encompassing view of the NOS (McCormas, Clough and Almazroa, 1998:4) is clearly articulated as a blend of history, philosophy and sociology of science: “what science is, how it works, how scientists operate as a social group and how society itself both directs and reacts to scientific endeavors”.

Thus far, no specific common definition for the NOS exists. Schwartz and Lederman (2002) have documented seven common tenets, namely, science is tentative, creative, subjective, empirical, and socio-cultural, and the relationship between theories and laws, and the role of inference in observation are important. The tenets of the NOS are prescriptive in depicting the various processes of the nature of science and include science as a body of knowledge (Vhurumuku, 2010).

The framework, within which the study is located, is that of the NOS as advocated by Chiappetta et al. (2004). There are four broad themes of the NOS, in this framework as displayed in Table 2.3 (below):

31 TABLE 2.3: Themes and categories of the nature of science

Source: Chiappetta et al. (2004)

1. Knowledge produced by science and nature of knowledge (Science as a body of knowledge)

a) facts, concepts, laws, and principles b) hypotheses, theories, or models

c) questions asking for recall of information

2. Engages students in investigations, science process skills, and reasoning (Science as a way of investigating)

a) learn through the use of materials

b) learn through the use of charts and tables c) make calculations

d) reason out an answer

e) participate in a “thought” experiment f) get information from the Internet g) use scientific observation and inference h) analysis and interpretation of data

3. Illustrates thinking and work of scientists, and the scientific enterprise (Science as a way of thinking)

a) describes how a scientist discovered or experimented b) historical development of an idea

c) empirical basis of science d) use of assumptions

e) inductive or deductive reasoning f) cause and effect relationship g) evidence and/or proof

h) presents scientific method(s) or problem solving steps i) scepticism and criticism

j) human imagination and creativity

k) characteristics of scientists (subjectivity and bias) l) various ways of understanding the natural world

4. Shows interactions among science, technology, and society and the social construct of knowledge (Interaction between science, technology and society (STS))

32 a) usefulness of science or technology

b) negative effects of science or technology

c) discussion of social issues related to science or technology d) careers in science or technology

e) contribution of diversity f) societal or cultural influences g) public or peer collaboration h) limitation of science

i) ethics in science

The four NOS themes from Table 2.3 are “science as a body of knowledge”, “science as a way of investigating”, “science as a way of thinking”, and the “interaction between science, technology and society (STS)”. Each NOS theme is numbered and further described in categories denoted in lower case. I now discuss these four NOS themes in great detail, using the categories, as subheadings, which Chiappetta et al. (2004) have used to describe them (Table 2.3).