Authoritarian science curriculum standards as barriers to teaching and learning: An interpretation of personal experience

Science Education

Volumn 96, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 291-310

  Wallace, Carolyn S ^a  

^a INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84857032955     PISSN: 00368326     EISSN: 1098237X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/sce.20470     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. Achieve, Inc. (2010). Achieve. Retrieved August 12, 2010, from
2. Aikenhead, G. S. (1998). Border crossing: Culture, school science, and assimilation of students. In D. A. Roberts & L. Östman (Eds.), Problems of meaning in the science curriculum (pp. 86-100). New York: Teachers College Press.
3. Aikenhead, G. S. (2000). Renegotiating the culture of school science. In R. Millar, J. Leach, & J. Osborne (Eds.), Improving science education (pp. 245-264). Buckingham, England: Open University Press.
4. American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1963). Science: A process approach. Retrieved May 19, 2011, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science Archives,
5. American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for scientific literacy. New York: Oxford University Press.
6. American National Standards Institute. (2010). eStandards Store. Retrieved May 30 2011, from
7. Apple, M. W. (1990). Ideology and curriculum (2nd ed.). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
8. Apple, M. W. (2004a). Ideology and curriculum (3rd ed.). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
9. Apple, M. W. (2004b). Series editor's introduction. In W.M. Roth & A. Calabrese Barton, Rethinking scientific literacy. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
10. Apple, M. W. (2006). Educating the "right" way: Markets, standards, God, and inequality (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
11. Au, W. (2007). High stakes testing and curricular control: A qualitative metasynthesis. Educational Researcher, 36(5), 258-267.
12. Ball, S. J. (1995). Intellectuals or technicians? The urgent role of theory in educational studies. British Journal of Educational Studies, 43(3), 255-271.
13. Ball, S. J. (2003). The teacher's soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy, 18(2), 215-228.
14. Ball, S. J. (2006). Education policy and social class. Oxon, England: Routledge.
15. Baram-Tsabari, A., & Yarden, A. (2005). Characterizing children's spontaneous interests in science and technology. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 803-826.
16. Bell, B. (2005). Learning in science: The Waikato research. Oxon, England: RouteledgeFalmer.
17. Bianchini, J. A., & Kelly, G. J. (2003). Challenges of standards-based reform: The example of California's science content standards and textbook adoption process. Science Education, 87, 378-389.
18. Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2005). Lessons from around the world: how policies, politics and cultures constrain and afford assessment practices. Curriculum Journal, 16(2), 249-261.
19. Brickhouse, N. W., Lowery, P., & Schultz, K. (2000). What kind of girl does science? The construction of school science identities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 441-458.
20. Carlone, H. B. (2003). (Re)producing good science students: Girls' participation in high school physics. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 9, 17-34.
21. Chi, M. T. H., Feltovich, P. J., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices. Cognitive Science, 5, 121-152.
22. Ciminelli, M., Collet, V. S., Baldassarre Hopkins, M., Ames Knips, M., Lee, S. J., Montgomery, C. R., et al. (2009, April). The impact of No Child Left Behind on diverse stakeholders in education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
23. Costa, V. B. (1995). When science is "another world": Relationships between worlds of family, friends, school, and science. Science Education, 89, 313-333.
24. Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: MacMillan.
25. Driver, R., Leach, J., Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational Researcher, 23, 5-12.
26. Gee, J. P. (2004). Language in the science classroom: Academic social languages at the heart of school-based literacy. In W. Saul (Ed.), Crossing borders in literacy and science instruction (pp. 13-32). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
27. Georgia Department of Education (2006). Georgia Performance Standards for Science. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from
28. Gilbert, J., & Calvert, S. (2003). Challenging accepted wisdom: Look at the gender and science education question through a different lens. International Journal of Science Education, 25, 861-878.
29. Halliday, M. A. (1978). Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward Arnold.
30. Hartley, D. (2003). New economy, new pedagogy? Oxford Review of Education, 29(1), 81-94.
31. Hipkins, R., Bolstad, R., Barker, R., Jones, A., Barker, M., Bell, B. et al (2002). Curriculum, learning and effective pedagogy: A literature review in science education. New Zealand: Government Publications. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from
32. Hursh, D. (2007). Assessing No Child Left Behind and the rise of neoliberal education policies. American Educational Research Journal, 44(3), 493-518.
33. Jaros, M., & Deakin Crick, R. (2007). Personalized learning for the post-mechanical age. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(4), 423-440.
34. Kelly, A. V. (1999). The curriculum: Theory and practice (4th ed.). London: Paul Chapman.
35. Knain, E. (2005). Identity and genre literacy in high-school students' experimental reports. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 607-624.
36. Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
37. Kozoll, R. H., & Osborne, M. D. (2004). Finding meaning in science: Lifeworld, identity, and self. Science Education, 88, 157-181.
38. Larson, J. O. (1995, April). Fatima's rules and other elements of an unintended chemistry curriculum. Paper presented to the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
39. Lemke, J. (1990). Talking science: Language, learning and values. New York: Praeger.
40. Lingard, B. (2005). Socially just pedagogies in changing times. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 15(2), 165-187.
41. Lipman, P. (2004). High-stakes education: Inequality, globalization and urban school reform. New York: Routledge.
42. Lloyd, B., & Duveen, G. (1992). Gender identities and education: The impact of starting school. New York: St. Martin's Press.
43. Lyons, T. (2006). Different countries, same science classes: Students' experience of school science in their own words. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 591-613.
44. Matthews, M. R. (2000). Constructivism in science and mathematics education. In D. C. Phillips (Ed.), National Society for the Study of Education, 99th yearbook (pp. 161-192). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved May 21, 2011, from
45. Meier, D., & Wood, G. (2004). Many children left behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is damaging our children and our schools. Boston: Beacon Press.
46. Millar, R., & Driver, R. (1987). Beyond processes. Studies in Science Education, 14, 33-62.
47. Ministry of Education, New Zealand. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum online. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from
48. Munby, H., & Roberts, D. A. (1998). Intellectual independence: A potential link between science teaching and responsible citizenship. In D. A. Roberts & L. Östman (Eds.), Problems of meaning in the science curriculum (pp. 101-114). New York: Teachers College Press.
49. National Research Council. (1996). The National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
50. National Research Council. (2007). Taking science to school: Learning and teaching science in grades K-8. Committee on Science Learning, Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade. R. A. Duschl, H. A. Schweingruber, & A. W. Shouse (Eds.). Board on Science Education, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
51. New Zealand Qualifications Authority. (2009). Assessment and moderation. Retrieved May 21, 2011, from
52. Norris, S. (1997). Intellectual independence for nonscientists and other content-transcendent goals of science education. Science Education, 81, 239-258.
53. Orpwood, G. (1998). The logic of and advice and deliberation: making sense of science curriculum talk. In D. A. Roberts & L. Östman (Eds.), Problems of meaning in the science curriculum (pp. 133-149). New York: Teachers College Press.
54. Osborne, J., & Collins, S. (2001). Pupils' views of the role and value of the science curriculum: A focus-group study. International Journal of Science Education, 23, 441-467.
55. Osborne, R., & Freyburg, P. (1985). Learning in science: The implications of children's science. Auckland, New Zealand: Heinemann.
56. Ranson, S. (2003). Public accountability in the age of neo-liberal governance. Journal of Educational Policy, 18, 459-480.
57. Roberts, D. A. (1998). Analyzing school science courses: The concept of companion meaning. In D. A. Roberts and L. Östman (Eds.), Problems of meaning in the science curriculum (pp. 5-12). New York: Teachers' College Press.
58. Roberts, D. A., & Östman, L. (1998). Problems of meaning in the science curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.
59. Roth, K. J., Anderson, C. W., & Smith, E. L. (1987). Curriculum materials, teacher talk and student learning: Case studies in fifth grade science teaching. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 19(6), 527-548.
60. Roth, W.-M., & Calabrese Barton, A. (2004). Rethinking scientific literacy. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
61. Schmidt, W. H., Wang, H. C., & McKnight, C. C. (2005). Curriculum coherence: An examination of U.S. science and mathematics contents standards from an international perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(5), 525-559.
62. Schwarz, C. V., Reiser, B. J., Davis, E. A., Kenyon, L., Achér, A., Fortus, D., et al. (2009). Developing a learning progression for scientific modeling: Making scientific modeling accessible and meaningful for learners. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(6), 632-654.
63. Shuell, T. J. (1985). Knowledge representation, cognitive structure, and school learning: A historical perspective. In L. H. West & A. L. Pines (Eds.), Cognitive structure and conceptual change (pp. 117-129). New York: Academic Press.
64. Songer, N. B., Kelcey, B., & Gotwals, A. W. (2009). How and when does complex reasoning occur? Empirically driven development of a learning progression focused on complex reasoning about biodiversity. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(6), 610-631.
65. Strike, K. A., (1993). Professionalism, democracy and discursive communities: Normative reflections on restructuring. American Educational Research Journal, 30, 255-275.
66. Thompson, J. J., & Windschitl, M. (2005). "Failing girls": Understandings connections among identity negotiation, personal relevance, and engagement in science learning from underachieving girls. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 11, 1-26.
67. Timperley, H., & Alton Lee, A. (2008). Reframing teacher professional learning: An alternative policy approach to strengthening valued outcomes for diverse learners. Review of Research in Education, 32(2), 328-369.
68. Valenzuela, A. (2005). Leaving children behind: How "Texas-style" accountability fails Latino youth. New York: State University of New York Press.
69. Valli, L., & Buese, D. (2007). The changing roles of teacher in an era of high-stakes accountability. American Educational Research Journal, 44(3), 519-558.
70. Vlaardingerbroek, B., & Taylor, T. G. N. (2007). Upper second school physical science curricula in New Zealand after the National Qualifications Framework reforms. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 5(2), 263-280.
71. Wallace, C. S., & Kang, N.-H. (2004). An investigation of experienced secondary science teachers' beliefs about inquiry: An examination of competing belief sets. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41, 936-960.
72. Welch, W. W., Klopfer, L. E., Aikenhead, G. S., & Robinson, J. T. (1981). The role of inquiry in science education: Analysis and recommendations. Science Education, 65, 33-50.
73. Wilson, C. D., Taylor, J. A., Kowalski, S. M., & Carlson, J. (2010). The relative effects and equity of inquiry-based and commonplace science teaching on students' knowledge, reasoning and argumentation. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(3), 276-301.