Albert Vinicio Baez and the promotion of science education in the developing world 1912–2007

Abstract

Alberto Vinicio Baez was a pioneer in the field of international science education. He was a physicist who played a leading role in UNESCO’s efforts to support science education globally. His research in the physics of light led to the development of an X-ray microscope and of imaging optics. He participated in projects to improve science education in high schools in the United States in the 1950s, a period of intense interest on this topic. In 1961 he was invited to join UNESCO to establish the Division of Science Education. In this position he wrote numerous papers, organized and participated in regional and international conferences, and studied and supported the development of projects to advance science and technology education in developing countries, with a special focus in secondary schools. The programme established the importance of science education, developed low-cost science kits, films and a structured, high-quality curriculum to support physics teachers in Latin America, chemistry education in Asia, biology education in Africa and mathematics education in the Arab States. Baez’s chief intellectual contributions to the field of science education centered on the development and dissemination of the ideas that it was necessary to democratize access to high-quality education in developing countries, that science education should focus on developing the capabilities needed to solve practical problems, and on the role of interdisciplinarity and social responsibility as core foundations of science education. He also articulated why high-quality science and technology education to improve living conditions in developing nations would contribute to addressing common global challenges faced by humanity, particularly achieving sustainable forms of human environmental interaction, reducing poverty and uncontrolled demographic expansion, and promoting peace. His writings and work to improve science education in developing countries reflect a theory of educational change that recognizes the synergies that result from engaging multiple stakeholders to initiate and sustain innovation and to institutionalize large-scale change. He favoured approaches that brought together scientists and teachers, and