Reflections of STS discussions in the reform of Finnish ‘Environmental‐science’ education

Abstract

The synergy of integrated science teaching for the education of scientifically literate and environmentally aware citizens is discussed in the context of the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) programmes, which link the scientific method with problems raised by society at large in terms of a close interaction between science, technology and society. These programmes carry with them a tradition of over 20 years of science teaching and environmental education. Subject curricula have also been revised e.g. in the United States and curriculum development projects launched by UNESCO. In connection with the Finnish school reform, started in the early 1990s, subject curricula have been rewritten. The paper deals with the STS themes as possible integrated modules in the revised curriculum for the new, widely integrated environmental science, where geography has been included. Subject‐orientated, in‐depth, modules and the wider, integrated STS approaches will follow each other in cyclic a way through the grades from K (kindergarten) and primary to middle levels, up to the high‐school levels. The suitability of the cyclic model for the teaching of environmental science in Finland is considered.