Socioscientific Issues
Human societies everywhere are heavily pressed by social problems created by our differences, lack of knowledge, values
and individual and collective behaviors that create undesirable results. Many of these social problems stem from natural
human interaction, others from a combination of nature and nurture, and yet many from our misuse and misapplication of
the products and byproducts of science. Because of the widespread impact of science and technology or technology
through scientific knowledge on our lives and social well-being, we refer to these issues as “socioscientific” in nature.
“Confronting Socioscientific Issues” which is the title of Chapter 2 of Hodson’s Looking to the Future presents his
argument that “the most effective way of learning to confront [Socioscientific Issues] SSI, is by confronting SSI, provided
there are appropriate levels of guidance and significance” (p. 33). Hodson (2011) explains his “3-Phase Approach” to
confront SSI as consisting of: (i) modeling, (ii) guided practice, and (iii) application. These three elements represent the
cornerstones of new approaches being used in science education across the globe, especially in the United States where
accreditation and accountability standards demand higher quality and standards in teaching and learning methods and
outcomes. Hodson believes that a “Personalized Approach” which attends “to the particular needs, interests, experiences,
aspirations and values of every learner, and to the affective and social dimensions of learning environments” (p. 35), is the
best approach to scientific literacy. This is operationalized in the promotion of learner-centered strategies in science
classrooms at all levels. Hodson advocates treating “science-as-culture” and making the approach to science education
one of a more practical nature that treats of the subject as “functional science” (p. 37) rather than as just science. This
emphasizes the paradigmatic shift to more practice-based than theory-based science in the 21st century. This, Hodson
(2011) argues, leads to the provision of instruction and examination of students’ learning and knowledge in the field of
science from the perspective or notion of “evidentiary competence” (p. 39), which has many components. Hodson
explains two approaches to science learning and teaching: explicit approach and implicit approach, which are bound in
what he calls the “nature of science” (NOS). Furthermore, he discusses the importance of students’ understanding of the
nature of technology (NOT) and ability to apply this to science in developing practical knowledge for action based on the
idea that, “knowledge requirements are not restricted to science and the nature of science or nature of technology” (p. 42).