On Education (2)

In this second part of the interview, Karen Worth explains how helping children to structure their experiences is what educators do. She touches on educational questions connected to the public image of science, to the quite persuasive image of "rocket science". She regrets that there is not a consensus around a relatively small number of basic science concepts that students should understand at the end of secondary school. She suggests that books by science writers who popularize science and simplify explanations do not necessarily build understanding.

The interview suggests that we should perhaps be more careful in distinguishing science within the learning horizon for most people ("science literacy") from the science of the specialist. We should also be aware of how the word inquiry is used to talk about the work of scientists, how children learn, and an approach to pedagogy.

21’