Widening Students’ World Views via the Implementation of Socioscientific Issues in Educational Practice

Students are more interested and easily involved in scientific issues related to their everyday lives. Both global issues and national incidents of a socioscientific nature have once again highlighted the value of education and underlined the active role it should play. It is therefore urgent to strengthen its role, not only in the light of students’ cognitive completeness, but also in the perspective of their ability and will to participate in the public sphere, making informed decisions based on scientific, moral, and ethical elements and principles, which seems feasible via the SSI framework. This chapter presents data from the research that has been done on SSIs in Greece and conclusions from its implementation. Furthermore, the research on the Greek situation can be profitably exploited by comparing the evidence against that of Greece’s sister country Cyprus: Although these two countries share many similar characteristics and attitudes, differences have been documented which demonstrate how cultural differences can affect the way people perceive the same moral problems. The educational policies of the two countries are discussed, and, through an in-depth examination of the science curricula, differences are again highlighted, and possible causes are commented upon. Finally, an attempt is made to offer suggestions on how pedagogical practices associated with SSI inquiry can serve as leverage to motivate students towards thinking about moral principles that transcend particular contexts.