WorldSTE2010, the World Conference on Science and Technology Education, follows on from previous ICASE World Conferences held in Penang, Malaysia (2003) and Perth, Australia, (2007).

It will bring together policy makers, curriculum developers, scientists, science teacher educators and researchers, science teacher association personnel and of course primary and secondary science teachers.

The 2003 conference led to the development and dissemination of the Penang Declaration and a Way Forward document suggesting pathways for Partnerships to promote Science Education. This led to ICASE involvement in considering the need for relevance and in discussions on the manner in which relevance should be considered (relevant for the student’s life outside school, relevance for the curriculum, relevance for examinations, etc).  This involved ICASE and member organisations in different projects on popularity and relevance of science education as well as consideration of the importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.

Following the Perth 2007 conference in Australia, the Perth Declaration expressed concern for the current state of science education, especially related to its popularity among students. The declaration made recommendations for the future. Issues stemming from this, to put before policy makers, were further developed in an accompanying forum under the auspices of UNESCO. This led to the UNESCO 2008 publication ‘Science Education policy-making: Eleven emerging issues.’

For further information on the various declarations and publications see the ICASE website www.icaseonline.net