Rethinking Science and Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction: Feminist Perspectives in the Computer Era

Abstract

The place of scientific knowledge in our understanding of our world and our lives has been discussed with increasing intensity since 1962, when Thomas Kuhn first published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Kuhn, 1970). The feminist critique of science makes an important contribution to these discussions even as it shares some elements with other critiques, especially with those derived from concerns about global and human ecology. These discussions touching as they do on the very nature of science and of scientific investigation have had a major impact on the conduct of educational research. But surprisingly little has been written concerning how the issues raised in these discussions might or should affect the conduct of science education in the schools. The purpose of this paper is to address the latter issue with respect to the feminist analysis of science.