Suchergebnisse

© 2012 Wageningen Academic Publishers The Netherlands.In much of Europe the importance of religion has been waning for at least a hundred and fifty years, probably much longer. However, somewhat to the surprise of many people, religion continues to be important in much of European social life and politics. In certain areas, including aspects of education and bioethics, it may, if anything, be increasing in influence in some countries. This chapter will concentrate on the relevance of this to science education and bioethics. What role, if any, should religion play in these matters and how should we decide this question? I shall argue that science education and bioethics need to respond quite differently to the issue of religion, and that the reason for this difference stems from the different aims of science education and bioethics and the different ways in which the two disciplines arrive at their claims about valid knowledge.

Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Schools have a particular responsibility to introduce young people to the range of possible options for them after they leave education as few families can provide this. However, in the United Kingdom, careers education is currently not strong in most schools for a number of reasons but principally due to its low status and shifts in government policy and funding. As a result, too many young people make subject choices for post-16 study that they subsequently regret. In particular, fewer young people in the United Kingdom choose post-16 STEM subjects than might do. Yet, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates are especially valued by employers. We draw on the findings of two research projects, ASPIRES and UPMAP, and argue that one way forward may be to embed careers education in STEM lessons. This can be done in ways that are respectful of and helpful to students. We recommend that an England- or UK-based project to investigate the consequences of embedding careers education in STEM lessons be undertaken.