Response to Williams' comment

Abstract

The title of my article was intended to indicate a spirit of inquiry and a desire for debate and exchange of ideas. Hence, critical comment is welcome. The problem is how best to respond to it in the limited space available. I will deal, albeit briefly, with two of the three major charges that Harvey Williams (HW hereafter) levels against me: first, that my approach does violence to science; second, that it patronizes ethnic and cultural minorities. I have chosen not to address directly the third charge-that my proposals “clash with the accepted goals and values of education in a Western democratic society”-because my overall position on the goals and values of science education is spelled out in some detail in a forthcoming paper in Curriculum Studies (Hodson, in press). Briefly, that article argues that the overarching goal of a Science for All program should be critical scientific and technological literacy, and that to achieve this goal it is necessary both to personalize learning and to politicize science education. Thus, my views are rooted very firmly in the notion of critical thinking and sociopolitical action by students on matters that relate to scientific, technological, and environmental issues. If this approach clashes with existing goals and values, I am guilty-but not, I believe, for the reasons that HW presents. Moreover, far from marginalizing minority group students, as HW alleges, my proposals are designed primarily to empower them.