At a time of increasing pressure for teachers to become more professional and more technically competent, this book examines in a critical fashion whether teachers should be considered experts. Written in straightforward and accessible prose, Welker examines the concept of expertise through the ideas of notable educational thinkers in the twentieth century--beginning with E.P. Cubberley and George S. Counts and concluding with a chapter on critical theory and the ideas of Maxine Greene and Henry Giroux. Other chapters examine such thinkers as Willard Waller, Daniel Lortie, Alan Tom, Philip Jackson, and Ivan Illich. Each chapter establishes an historical and ideological context and evaluates how the social character of the expert matches the responsibilities. While the idea of the teacher assuming the role of educational expert is gaining increased credibility in the current reform movement, this book shows that the concept fails to describe the senses of moral and social competence required of the teacher. Also the notion of the expert teacher might stand in the way of teachers forming the type of public partnerships necessary for them to complete their tasks adequately.

Biology is where many of science's most exciting and relevant advances are taking place. Yet, many students leave school without having learned basic biology principles, and few are excited enough to continue in the sciences. Why is biology education failing? How can reform be accomplished? This book presents information and expert views from curriculum developers, teachers, and others, offering suggestions about major issues in biology education: what should we teach in biology and how should it be taught? How can we measure results? How should teachers be educated and certified? What obstacles are blocking reform?

This book presents a “philosophy of science education” as a research field as well as its value for curriculum, instruction and teacher pedagogy. It seeks to re-think science education as an educational endeavour by examining why past reform efforts have been only partially successful, including why the fundamental goal of achieving scientific literacy after several “reform waves” has proven to be so elusive. The identity of such a philosophy is first defined in relation to the fields of philosophy, philosophy of science, and philosophy of education. It argues that educational theory can support teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge and that history, philosophy and sociology of science should inform and influence pedagogy. Some case studies are provided which examine the nature of science and the nature of language to illustrate why and how a philosophy of science education contributes to science education reform. It seeks to contribute in general to the improvement of curriculum design and science teacher education. The perspective to be taken on board is that to teach science is to have a philosophical frame of mind—about the subject, about education, about one’s personal teacher identity.