Science Education in a Global Age
During the 20th Century, science has become a global enterprise, whereas science education has remained primarily national or local in scale. While they were influenced by developments in other parts of the world, individual nations (or, in the United States, individual school districts) have decided what their curricula should be. In general, they made those curricular decisions to satisfy local constituents, sometimes at odds with state or national reform efforts.
The 21st Century is likely to see the globalization of science education. Elmore (1997) suggested that local decisions about curriculum and instruction are increasingly influenced by outside forces. He noted the growth of systems for measuring student achievement (such as Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and other national and state tests) that make it much easier to compare schools, districts, and states against each other and against other countries. Schools, teachers, and students are increasingly held accountable for performance on these tests rather than for satisfying local expectations. Elmore (p. 17) summarized the general trend as follows: