Globally, we are confronted with a series of unprecedented environmental issues which we
are scurrying to address and attempt to resolve. “Confronting Environmental Issues” – Chapter 8
of Looking to the Future, addresses what could be termed a widespread case of “citizen
ignorance” regarding science literacy and education. Hodson believes that citizens remain
“blissfully unaware of the extent of the problems” (p. 223) that concern environmental scientists
and activists, and he cites a number of barriers including the ways we live and failure to accept
science and technology as part of this problem. In discussing the need for education about the
environment Hodson mentions the Ausubelian principle of teachers starting with students’
existing knowledge and expanding into scientifically determined rationale. He further discusses
the roles that fear and denial play in affecting scientific literacy education and learning and looks
at education for the environment from the perspective of Argyeman’s (2002) “pro-environmental
behavior”. Ideas of the moralistic and democratic approaches to environmental education are
explored and the environment is explored as a “social contract” (p. 238). Closing out the chapter,
Hodson demonstrates how we are changing our environment both positively and negative
through our education for environment, and about environment.
Chapter 9, “Place, Community and Collective Action” pools together a variety of environmental
and scientifically bounded issues that are critical in rethinking and redesigning science
education and curriculum. Hodson discusses the importance of “broadening students’ conception
of the environment” (p. 267) in addressing this new call for building a curriculum for social
activism, and not just activism, but real application as proposed in his 3-Phase Approach. Hodson
believes that an essential part of science education is helping students to develop a “sense of self”
which he defines as “focusing on the immediate community in which students live, seeking out
local resources, focusing on local issues and helping students learn how to ask and answer
questions about the phenomena and events that surround them” (p. 271-272). Thus, place
becomes a critical pedagogical factor in science education according to Hodson’s perspective.
The chapter closes with an extensive discussion of students’ preparation for activism and the
need for political literacy in shaping them for this role.
The final chapter of Looking to the Future, Chapter 10, “Making It Happen” represents
Hodson’s last call as a writer, philosopher of science education, activist and educator in the field
for all stakeholders and especially community leaders and educators to build strong science education
curriculums that engender the principles of modeling, guided practice, application and
activism through the new paradigms proposed to revisit and reconstruct scientific literacy and
education. There is no doubt that Hodson has already convinced his readers from the very first
chapter of this book of the need for strong science education at both individual and national levels.
Teachers of science must strive to be “transformative intellectuals” (p. 302) to make the
needed change and we must now heed the call with the same strong passion and fervor that
Hodson puts into writing this volume.
This book is one of those few that should become part of every university and college reference
library and will serve equally as a reference and teaching resource in science education and
literacy, and a textbook for the subject in higher education. It is most suitable for those engaged
in higher education studies in science education and science literacy because it has significant
contents, concepts, and depth that require a broad command of language and thought. This is
indeed an excellent contribution by Derek Hodson, a true emeritus scholar of science education.