Is There a Place for Socioscientific Issues in Australian Secondary School Science?

It is crucial that all young people, through their formal schooling, are equipped with the skills and knowledge to be able to understand and respond with integrity to critical science-based issues such as the climate crisis, energy availability, food and water security, infectious disease control and population growth. These issues are contested, complex, controversial topics that are underpinned by science and have ethical, political, societal, personal, economic, legal or religious aspects. They are called socioscientific issues (SSI). There are clear benefits for students to incorporating SSI into secondary school science including improved conceptual understanding, decision-making and argumentation skills, improved critical thinking and generation of positive emotions that improve self-efficacy, engagement and motivation to learn science (Tomas & Ritchie, Research in Science Education, 42(1), 25–49, 2012). This chapter presents historical, personal and contemporary perspectives on the teaching of SSI in an Australian context. The chapter commences with an overview of the inclusion of SSI in secondary school science in Australia through examining educational policy and curriculum documents. Relevant Australian science education research on SSI (including my own) are reviewed. Current teacher education practices are summarised. The chapter concludes with recommendations about how to better embed and sustain meaningful SSI teaching in all Australian science classrooms.