Status Study of Graduate Science Education in the United States, 1960-80. Final Report.

Overview & Synopsis

This study presents results from a survey of all graduate institutions in the United States and then takes a closer look at 35 programs responsible for most of the research and production of doctoral graduates in science education. Identified are several trends, which are discussed and represented graphically, in the areas of: (1) growth of science education as a discipline; (2) change in the graduate programs within the past 20 years; (3) financial support for science education; (4) commitment to personal research productivity of graduate faculty; (5) individual characteristics of faculty members; (6) agreement as to definition for science education, a rationale or framework for the discipline, and a theory-base for research; (7) autonomy of science education programs at graduate institutions; (8) research interests in science education; (9) goals for the discipline; and (10) status of professional dialogue and cooperative research efforts. (Author/CS)