نقد و بررسي كتاب علوم پايه اول راهنمايي تحصيلي از منظر فلسفه علم‌

A Critique of Sixth Grade Science Textbook from the Viewpoint of Philosophy uf Science

Introduction In recent years the systematic inclusion of the history and philosophy of science in science education has been viewed as a way of making the latter more closely related to the processes and conduct of science. The intention has been that, if studentsʹ understanding of how scientific knowledge is developed. and how historical. philosophical and technological contexts influence its development, then they will acquire a more comprehensive view of science and, as a consequences, become more engaged by the learning of science. Kuhn (1961) suggests that there is a textbook image or myth of science and that it may be systematically misleading. Research Questions The intent of this study is to analyze the Iranian school science textbook (in grade 6) based on two contemporary approaches in philosophy of science. These two approaches, namely positivistic and post-positivistic, must first be described clearly. Therefore, two major questions followed: I. What are the most important aspects of philosophy of scienceʹ) And how do contemporary approaches in philosophy of science approach them? 2. According to which approach is the sixth grade science texthook organized? Methods To answer the above mentioned questions, the researchers developed a conceptual framework based on theories of knowledge. The framework was validated via Nature of Scienceʹs (NOS) questionnaires and curriculum specialist. As a result, a reference framework is formed which considered four aspects of philosophy of science: the role of history of science, the role of scientists, the role of theories, the role of scientific methods. To investigate the philosophy of science aspects in the Iranian science textbook for grade 6, content analysis procedure was used and each paragraph was considered as a unit of analysis. Results Results of content analysis of the Iranian science textbook for grade 6 indicate that: 1. There is no place for the history of science in the mentioned book. 2. Scientists do not communicate with other members of the community and there is an individualistic image of science where individual scientists are discovering truth. 3. Scientific concepts are separated from their theoretical frameworks especially in the fields related to physics and geology. 4. Scientific methods in the textbooks are mainly attributed to facts, observations and measurement rather than a mixture of observation, measurement, induction. problem solving, and discovery method. 5. The post-positivistic approach to the philosophy of science has been ignored. 6. Many aspects of the positivistic approach to the philosophy of science exist implicitly. 7. The imaginations of the scientific methods, the history of science, the role of scientists and the role of theories in the Iranian science textbook for grade 6, are not corresponding to reality fostering positivistic worldview. Discussion and Conclusion Studentsʹ beliefs about knowledge in a domain may have a significant effect on how they approach the material and on what they learn. Research has shown that incorporation of history and philosophy of scienceinstruction is effective in leading students to a better understanding of the nature of science (Stinner et ai, 2003:617). There arc also research studies that indicate positive results in employing history of science to encourage student conceptual change (ibid.) We believe that a science curriculum should foster: - The role of history of science, this role reveals both an evolutionary and revolutionary character. - Reichenbachʹs distinction between the contexts of discovery and of jus I ification. - The role of scientific methods (there is no one way to do science, in effect, there is no universal step-by- step scientific method).