Universität zu Köln

Reiners, Christiane S., Bliersbach, Markus and Marniok, Karl (2017). The Cultural Argument for Understanding Nature of Science. A Chance to Reflect on Similarities and Differences Between Science and Humanities. Sci. Educ., 26 (5). S. 583 - 611. DORDRECHT: SPRINGER. ISSN 1573-1901

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Abstract

Understanding Nature of Science (NOS) is a central component of scientific literacy, which is agreed upon internationally, and consequently has been a major educational goal for many years all over the globe. In order to justify the promotion of an adequate understanding of NOS, educators have developed several arguments, among them the cultural argument. But what is behind this argument? In order to answer this question, C. P. Snow's vision of two cultures was used as a starting point. In his famous Rede Lecture from 1959, he complained about a wide gap between the arts and humanities on the one hand and sciences on the other hand. While the representatives of the humanities refer to themselves as real intellectuals, the scientists felt rather ignored as a culture, despite the fact that their achievements had been so important for Western society. Thus, Snow argued that as these intellectual cultures were completely different from each other, a mutual understanding was impossible. The first European Regional IHPST Conference took up the cultural view on science again. Thus, the topic of the conference Science as Culture in the European Context encouraged us to look at the two cultures and to figure out possibilities to bridge the gap between them in chemistry teacher education. For this reason, we put together three studies-one theoretical and two independent research projects (one dealing with creativity in science, the other with scientific laws and theories) which contribute to our main research field (promoting an understanding of NOS)-in order to address the cultural argument for understanding science from an educational point of view. Among the consented tenets of what understanding NOS implies in an educational context, there are aspects which are associated mainly with the humanities, like the tentativeness of knowledge, creativity, and social tradition, whereas others seem to have a domain-specific meaning, like empirical evidence, theories and laws, and the role of technology. Thus, the cultural argument for understanding science invites us not only to consider domain-specific concepts but also to reflect on similarities between science and the humanities by way of examples.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Reiners, Christiane S. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Bliersbach, Markus UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Marniok, Karl UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-225515
DOI:	10.1007/s11191-017-9912-4
Journal or Publication Title:	Sci. Educ.
Volume:	26
Number:	5
Page Range:	S. 583 - 611
Date:	2017
Publisher:	SPRINGER
Place of Publication:	DORDRECHT
ISSN:	1573-1901
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language SCHOOL SCIENCE; EDUCATION; STUDENTS; CONCEPTIONS; CREATIVITY; COURSES; FUTURE; VIEWS Multiple languages Education & Educational Research; History & Philosophy Of Science Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/22551