Peter J. Fensham
Changes in society can, on occasion, lead to new demands on schooling, and on science education in particular. A major such demand in the 1960s led to a conceptual form of science that has dominated school science education ever since. Subsequent major societal demands have usually not been nearly as successful in redefining school science education. Some reasons for these failures are suggested, based on the conditions that supported the success in the 1960s.