Science Education in British Columbia: A New Curriculum for the 21st Century

Abstract

British Columbia (BC) is the third largest province in Canada and has the third largest number of students attending schools. Separated geographically from Canada by the Rocky Mountains, BC embraces a kind of regionalism in its social fabric, which in turn has affected the development and evolution of science education in the province. Since 1960, BC has engaged in a series of science education curriculum renewal projects. In the 1970s, curriculum changes reflected American post-Sputnik curriculum reforms in science education; but since the mid-1980s, BC has increasingly developed a science education curriculum that displays the creative energy and particular interests of this province. In 2016, the BC Ministry of Education introduced a new science curriculum that encourages “21st century thinking.” This chapter documents the evolution of the BC school science curriculum, especially the shift from an integrated, resource-based approach toward a new digital literacy that has fewer, but higher-level, outcomes. The purpose of this shift is to provide more flexibility to explore students’ interests and passions in science education with the intention of fostering dynamic thinking skills and job-applicable skills. This new curriculum faces many hurdles, however, which may include the volatile nature of BC politics. The changes implemented in the province are a significant departure from previous approaches to science education in BC and in Canada; the success of these bold initiatives in the years ahead may depend on the support offered to BC teachers by the Ministry of Education.