The history and philosophy of science in science curricula and teacher education in Canada

Abstract

In Canada, education is a provincial responsibility. Given a geographically expansive country, a diversity of cultures, and 13 provinces and territories, the role of history and philosophy of science (HPS) in science education varies considerably across the nation. In the last decade, some attempts have been made to provide some national consistency in science curricula across provincial boundaries (Pan-Canadian Frameworks for Science). While a focus for this work is on scientific literacy that incorporates in some ways teaching about the nature of science, implementation at the provincial level, often guided by textbooks, has not been widespread. In this chapter, I will explore a wide range of aspects of HPS and the teaching of science in Canada. These aspects include the historical underpinnings of the history and philosophy of science and science curricula and the influence HPS has had on national and provincial documents and the inclusion of HPS in teacher education programs (including some best practices). Additionally, some time will be taken to examine the status of local indigenous knowledge and its relationship to science curricula and teaching in provincial curriculum.