In the next two chapters we will explore the science curriculum in the secondary schools by focusing first on the curriculum of middle and junior high schools, and then the curriculum of the senior high school, as well as science curriculum perspectives in other countries. You have discovered from the last chapter that the science curriculum has evolved over the past century as a result of social, political, economic and educational forces. Focusing on the science curriculum early in your study of science teaching will give you the big picture--a wholistic view, if you will---of science in the school curriculum. From this vantage point, the methods, strategies, development of lesson plans and management techniques can be viewed in the context of this larger framework.

We will begin our study of the curriculum by examining the patterns, past--present--future, of curriculum in the middle/junior high years. The middle/junior high curriculum which follows the elementary science curriculum is the crucial part of the K-12 science program. All students study some science during these years; this is the time during which students are encouraged or discouraged from developing a positive affair with science. What are the middle/junior high curriculum patterns? What do you think should be emphasized in science for pre-adolescent students? What will help students become scientifically literate citizens in this new century?

PREVIEW QUESTIONS

• What is meant by the term curriculum?
• What were the characteristics of the junior high science curriculum reform projects of the 1960s?
• What is the desired or ideal middle school science program?
• How do middle schools differ from junior high schools?
• What are the characteristics of exemplary middle school science programs?