How is Science Taught in the Classrooms?

In pursuing my interest in values in science education, perhaps one of the first questions that need to be answered would be how exactly is science being taught in schools world over. This entails some exploratory work, some literature search. It would be great if I can hear from educationists, parents, students around the world. On my part, I would make attempts at finding out something about what science education is like in some countries around the world, like North and South America, England, France, Germany, India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and a country in Africa.

There are certain intrinsic values embedded in science as a discipline which manifests themselves in the classrooms as skills to be taught, such as the skills of observation, measurement, organisation, identification, hypothesis generation, application etc. Science is often characterised by certain attitudes such as being open information reaching from all around us, new suggestions, ideas coming our way, deliberately looking for alternative points of view and being open to falsification. In short, science occupies itself with the pursuit of truth, the truth in the objects and phenomena that are associated to our everyday lives.

However, do these values that are embedded in science filtered into the classrooms or is science taught as a body of knowledge, whose content students are expected to mug up for an examination? Or is science simplified and treated as field play without students internalising the scientific values as well as the concepts? Are values such as translated more into examinable skills and their intrinsic values ignored? what is the spirit with which science is taught in schools world over?

In connection with this trend of thought, I have included two links to to add to the discussion. One link contains an articel posted by John Moore, Title : Are We Really Teaching Science, giving an American perspective to how science is taught. In this article is mentioned President Barack Obama's pledge to "restore science to its rightful place". Link at http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/chemeddl/2009/03/29/are-we-really-teaching-science-april-2009/Read on.

Another link that I have included is a posting on the state of science education in Australia, at http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/science_in_australian_schools/executive_summary.htm. Title : Review of Science Education Literature and Reports: Executive Summary

For the above two links, refer to the links section on the left.

Thats it for now and cheers!