SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN FINNISH COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS: FOUR CASES

Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach has been found to be an effective framework in science education. STS-approach is expected to increase citizens" abilities to carry out the social responsibility in collective decision making concerning issues related to science and technology. At school, the teacher can view, especially after practising STS-instruction her/himself, that it is an integrated curriculum that promotes students" scientific knowledge, process skills, citizenship behaviours, and decision-making abilities. Science and Technology Education at the University of Joensuu has been planned in order to increase primary school teacher students" knowledge about science education including science contents, science pedagogy as well as environmental and technological education. STS-approach is applied in planning Science and Technology Education for teacher students. After theoretical studies about STS-approach, primary school teacher students also have to practice STS-teaching themselves in the lower level of the comprehensive school (primary school, grades 1-6). In this paper, four cases of these STS-approaches in Finnish primary schools are presented. The cases include learning about plastics, electricity, water and air, and human body, and the cases are planned and carried out by several primary school teacher students in teams. The cases presented here are planned for and carried out with fifth or sixth graders (age of 10-12) in rural schools.