Validity and worth in the science curriculum : learning school science outside the laboratory

It is widely acknowledged that there are problems with school science in many developed countries of the world. Such problems manifest themselves in a progressive decline in pupil enthusiasm for school science across the secondary age range and by the fact that fewer students are choosing to study the physical sciences at higher levels and as careers. Responses to these developments have included proposals to reform the curriculum, pedagogy and the nature of pupil discussion in science lessons. We support such changes but argue from a consideration of the aims of science education that secondary school science is too rooted in the science laboratory; substantially greater use needs to be made of out-of-school sites for the teaching of science. Such usage should result in a school science education that is more valid and more motivating and is better at fulfilling defensible aims of school science education. Our contention is that laboratory-based school science teaching needs to be complemented by out-of-school science learning that draws on the actual world (e.g. through field trips), the presented world (e.g. in science centres, botanic gardens, zoos and science museums) and via the virtual worlds that are increasingly available through information and communications technologies (ICT).