HIPST—History and Philosophy in Science Teaching: A European Project

Abstract

Readers of this journal usually do not have to be convinced any more that teaching and learning science with history and philosophy of science (HPS) might be beneficial on several levels. Plenty of articles have commenced with arguing for an extended implementation of HPS on different fields of science teaching like school science education, teacher training, vocational training and science museums. Nevertheless, advocates of HPS very often belong to the group of academic staff (like I do). Even though many authors have a background as science teachers, there are just a few who managed to stay close to the practices and realities of school science education after having adopted a position as a researcher. No wonder that bridges have to be built between the academic cultures of the advocates of HPS and those science teachers who might be willing to adopt many of the ideas about the role and benefits of HPS in science teaching, which often haven been put forward in this journal. The project HIPST aimed at such a bridge building activity. Ten partners from seven European countries as well as Israel contributed to the project between 2008 and 2010. We started from the idea that an effective implementation of HPS in science education has to be supported by particular activities, knowledge and materials. Activities should contribute to connecting different stakeholders in the field of science education and HPS like science teachers, teacher trainers, historians and philosophers of science, curriculum developers, experts for science museums and school science administration. For the sake of this objective, several national conferences in each of the participating countries and international meetings among project partners have been held. Knowledge from several fields of science, science education and teaching, history and philosophy of science should inform all activities and products of the project. It was assumed that this objective would be achieved best, if people with different expertise bring their specific capacities and perspectives into the project.