Aspects of Science Education in India:A Synoptic Review and Possible Directions for the Future

Science is the constitutive feature of modern society. It has not only changed the world but has also changed the way we understand the social and natural world. Apart from alleviating us from the traps of ignorance, illiteracy and penury, it has challenged the centrality and dominance of metaphysical beliefs in society. The attributes of science like rationality, and open-mindedness, and scientific worldviews are universal values, essential for the growth of an individual as well as the society. In post-independent India, our Constitution adopted the goals of establishing a society based on scientific temperament, humanism and spirit of inquiry. The same is also enshrined in Article 51 A(h) of the Constitution that states that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen of the country to inculcate, propagate and further disseminate scientific temper in society. This underlines that science education is central to our modernity project and the idea of society predicated on scientific rationality, democratic values and open-mindedness. Introducing the idea of science as a process at curriculum level, exposing students to the nature of science are some of the important components of pedagogical content knowledge that can be leveraged in today’s science education programme to make science education enjoyable, productive and intrinsic to the learning process. It will also bring the issue of educational praxis at the centre of learning.