SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES AS CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: A CHALLENGE AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATION

During the 20th century, the sciences have been considered as disciplines that are significantly distinct from the humanities, C.P. Snows term of the “two cultures” has become the key word for this development. However, recent science studies produced arguments for the thesis that sciences are also a cultural activity. As a consequence, science and the related practices become time dependent – what was an accepted scientific practice in a particular period would not meet the standards of another period. Understanding science as a cultural activity poses several challenges to educators, but offers also opportunities. One approach that meets these opportunities is the implementation of the history of science in science education. In the following, two specific approaches in this respect will be discussed: storytelling and the reenactment of historical experiments.