Derek Hodson is Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies
in Education (University of Toronto). One can say that he bears this title extremely well,
deservingly, and justly based on the scholarly-academic rigor, scope, intellectual fervor, richness
in thoughts and ideas, and the philosophical adeptness of this book. While Looking to the Future
focuses mainly on Science Education, the general reach of this book is admirably extensive,
reflecting the breadth and depth of the author’s education, knowledge, and experience concerning
our current challenges and the need to re-engage and redesign curriculum to make Science Education
more formidable and useful as competitive value and solution to our myriad problems.
Professor Hodson will certainly find this volume of his one difficult to surpass in the diversity of
topics and issues that characterize the extant literature of the field today.
Looking to the Future has ten (10) very informative chapters which the author supplements
with extensive notes and an impressive array of top scholarly reference books and journals. The
first chapter of the book, appropriately titled “Scientific Literacy Revisited” briefly traces the
development of the term “scientific literacy” to more than 50 years ago, crediting Paul Hurd
(1958) and Richard McCurdy (1958) for bringing the term into U.S. educational literature.
Hodson describes scientific literacy as being “increasingly prominent in international debate
about science education” (p. 1), and “a trend mirrored by a similarly expanding interest in technological
literacy and environmental literacy” (p. 1). One of the most interesting concepts relevant
to the subject and theme of this book mentioned in Chapter 1 is the “public understanding of
science”, which should become a major concern of science educators, policy makers, and our
political and national leaders. The idea of the “public understanding of science” is more than
ever, so common to our efforts to increase literacy in Science Education as well as technology
and environment. The rationale for scientific literacy is also the subject of this chapter; that is,
Hodson refers to this rationale in terms of the “why we need it and why we should promote [it]”
(p. 2). This will always remain fundamental to questions on scientific literacy and Science Education
for individuals, schools, and society. Hodson presents the rationale of scientific literacy
categorized under three groups of arguments proposed by Thomas and Durant (1987): (i)
perceived benefits of science, (ii) benefits to individuals, and (iii) benefits to society as a whole
(Hodson, p.2). The chapter goes on to discuss the value of a scientifically literate population,
scientific and technological literacy, the cultural, aesthetic, and moral-ethical benefits that scientific
literacy confers on individuals, the benefits of scientific literacy to society as a whole and to
democracy and responsible citizenship, the notion of multidisciplinary scientific literacy,
sustainable development, environmental education, and rich themes that make this chapter not
only the most diverse in content, but possibly the most interesting.
In Chapter 2, titled “Confronting Socioscientific Issues” (SSI), Hodson argues that, “the
most effective way of learning to confront SSI, is by confronting SSI, provided there are
appropriate levels of guidance and significance” (p. 33). The author expands this discussion by
first presenting his 3-Phase Approach to confront SSI: modeling, guided practice, and application.
Hodson questions the manner of acquisition of relevant scientific knowledge, and advocates a
“Personalized Approach” which he describes as “attending to the particular needs, interests,
experiences, aspirations and values of every learner, and to the affective and social dimensions of
learning environments” (p. 35). The author goes on to discuss “science-as-culture” and the idea
of “functional science” (p. 37) prelude to examining the nature of science in an extensive
sectional essay ranging from analyses on the National Science Education Standards, discussion of
traditional school curriculum, scientific reporting with regard to instruction and students’ learning
and knowledge in the field to the notion of “evidentiary competence” (p. 39) and its thirteen
components as postulated by Jeong, Songer, and Lee. In this chapter Hodson also discusses the
concepts of explicit approach and implicit approach as related to the nature of science (NOS),
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students’ understanding of the nature of technology (NOT), and 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). Language issues in science are also examined – the nature
of science argument, and media literacy affecting science education and literacy and SSI;
specifically, the role of information is discussed along with ideas of utility, control, risk, fate, and
morality as related to this perpetuating theme. Another sectional essay in Chapter 2 examines the
role of science education and scientific literacy in dealing with controversial issues from those
intimate to the person of mankind to those dealing with our environment and broader planetary
home. Finally, Hodson discusses the affective and social environments of learning as related to
science education and the types of pupils that emerge from these environments to embrace science
literacy.