Science

In a post-COVID-19 pandemic era of cost-of-living crises and global displacements of people due to conflicts and climate challenges, food poverty is a growing and ever-pressing issue across both the Global North and the Global South. Presenting a collection of cases drawn from higher education research, teaching and learning, as well as campus and community-based initiatives, Higher Education and SDG2 addresses food security, nutrition, sustainable and resilient agriculture, and ending hunger for all.

Featuring chapters and cases from Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Italy, Malawi, Northern Ireland, Peru, Turkey, the UK, the USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe, this edited collection demonstrates the fundamental role Higher Education has in helping deliver Zero Hunger. The chapters cover education, research and community engagement initiatives that aim to address how this issue impacts the nations that face the most widespread and severe effects of hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, and unsustainable food systems. Focusing on opportunities for Higher Education to positively influence academic, innovation, and policy agendas, this synthesis of global approaches is an inspirational call to action for increasing meaningful engagement by universities and colleges to address SDG2 Zero Hunger.

Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals is a series of 17 books that address each of the SDGs through the lens of higher education. Adopting a solutions-based approach, each book focuses on how higher education is advancing delivery of Agenda 2030. The series is edited by Wendy Purcell, Professor with Rutgers University and Academic Research Scholar with Harvard University; Emeritus Professor and University President Emerita.

The goal of this volume of Research in Science Education is to examine the relationship between science education policy and practice and the special role that science education researchers play in influencing policy. It has been suggested that the science education research community is isolated from the political process, pays little attention to policy matters, and has little influence on policy. But to influence policy, it is important to understand how policy is made and how it is implemented. This volume sheds light on the intersection between policy and practice through both theoretical discussions and practical examples.

This book was written primarily about science education policy development in the context of the highly decentralized educational system of the United States. But, because policy development is fundamentally a social activity involving knowledge, values, and personal and community interests, there are similarities in how education policy gets enacted and implemented around the world.

This volume is meant to be useful to science education researchers and to practitioners such as teachers and administrators because it provides information about which aspects of the science education enterprise are affected by state, local, and national policies. It also provides helpful information for researchers and practitioners who wonder how they might influence policy. In particular, it points out how the values of people who are affected by policy initiatives are critical to the implementation of those policies.

Inequality is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, affecting millions of people across the world. It undermines human dignity, social justice, and sustainable development. How might Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) contribute more to reducing inequalities within and among countries, as envisioned by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 10 (SDG10)?

Exploring various ways that HEIs address inequality through their core functions of teaching, research, outreach, and engagement, the chapters include leading examples and practices to deliver SDG10 from different regions and contexts. Offering a practical approach towards the challenges faced in reducing inequalities, this is a valuable resource for academic researchers, scholars, practitioners, policy makers, and students who are interested in learning more about how higher education can contribute to the attainment of SDG10 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals is a series of 17 books that address each of the SDGs through the lens of higher education. Adopting a solutions-based approach, each book focuses on how higher education is advancing delivery of Agenda 2030. The series is edited by Wendy Purcell, Professor with Rutgers University and Academic Research Scholar with Harvard University; Emeritus Professor and University President Emerita.

As the U.S. focuses on positioning itself to retain and advance its status as a world leader in technology and scientific innovation, a recognition that community colleges are a critical site for intervention has become apparent. Community colleges serve the lion’s share of the nation’s postsecondary students. In fact, 40% of all undergraduate students are enrolled in community colleges, these students account for nearly 30% of all STEM undergraduate majors in postsecondary institutions. These students serve as a core element of the STEM pipeline into four-year colleges and universities via the community college transfer function. Moreover, community colleges are the primary postsecondary access point for non-traditional students, including students of color, first-generation, low-income, and adult students. This is a particularly salient point given that these populations are sordidly underrepresented among STEM graduates and in the STEM workforce.

Increasing success among these populations can contribute significantly to advancing the nation’s interests in STEM. As such, the community college is situated as an important site for innovative practices that have strong implications for bolstering the nation’s production and sustenance of a STEM labor force. In recognition of this role, the National Science Foundation and private funding agencies have invested millions of dollars into research and programs designed to bolster the STEM pipeline. From this funding and other independently sponsored inquiry, promising programs, initiatives, and research recommendations have been identified. These efforts hold great promise for change, with the potential to transform the education and outcome of STEM students at all levels. This important book discusses many of these promising programs, initiatives, and research-based recommendations that can impact the success of STEM students in the community college. This compilation is timely, on the national landscape, as the federal government has placed increasing importance on improving STEM degree production as a strategy for America’s future stability in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Informed by research and theory, each chapter in this volume blazes new territory in articulating how community colleges can advance outcomes for students in STEM, particularly those from historically underrepresented and underserved communities.

Though there has been a rapid increase of women’s representation in law and business, their representation in STEM fields has not been matched. Researchers have revealed that there are several environmental and social barriers including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities that continue to block women’s progress in STEM. In this book, the authors address the issues that encounter women of color in STEM in higher education.

This book is a theoretical inquiry into alternative pedagogies that challenge current standardized practices in the field of science education. Through Mandy Hoffen, a fictional persona, Dana McCullough, the author, explores how stories of Henrietta Lacks become part of a conspiracy to change science education. Mandy Hoffen, however, never expected to find herself in the middle of a conspiracy. As a science teacher of 20 plus years, she worked diligently to meet the needs of her charges, who are currently ninth and tenth grade biology students in an age of standardized testing. The author also creates imaginary dialogues which serve as the theoretical framework for each chapter. Each chapter unfolds in a form of a play with imaginary settings and events that bring Henrietta Lacks back from the grave to participate in conversations about science, society, and social justice. The imaginary conversations are based on the author’s experiences in graduate courses, direct quotations from philosophers of science, historians of science, science educators, curriculum theorists, and stories of students in their study of Henrietta Lacks in a high school biology classroom. The play describes the journey of a graduate student/high school teacher as she researches the importance of the philosophy of science, history of science, science curriculum and social justice in science education. Through reflections on fictional conversations, stories of Henrietta Lacks are examined and described in multiple settings, beginning in an imaginary academic meeting, and ending with student conversations in a classroom. Each setting provides a space for conversations wherein participants explore their personal connections with science, science curriculum, issues of social justice related to science, and Henrietta Lacks.

This book will be of interest to graduate students, scholars, and undergraduates in curriculum studies, educational foundations, and teacher education, and those interested in alternative research methodologies. This is the first book to intentionally address the stories of Henrietta Lacks and their importance in the field of curriculum studies, science studies, and current standardized high school science curriculum.

As the U.S. focuses on positioning itself to retain and advance its status as a world leader in technology and scientific innovation, a recognition that community colleges are a critical site for intervention has become apparent. Community colleges serve the lion’s share of the nation’s postsecondary students. In fact, 40% of all undergraduate students are enrolled in community colleges, these students account for nearly 30% of all STEM undergraduate majors in postsecondary institutions. These students serve as a core element of the STEM pipeline into four-year colleges and universities via the community college transfer function. Moreover, community colleges are the primary postsecondary access point for non-traditional students, including students of color, first-generation, low-income, and adult students. This is a particularly salient point given that these populations are sordidly underrepresented among STEM graduates and in the STEM workforce.

Increasing success among these populations can contribute significantly to advancing the nation’s interests in STEM. As such, the community college is situated as an important site for innovative practices that have strong implications for bolstering the nation’s production and sustenance of a STEM labor force. In recognition of this role, the National Science Foundation and private funding agencies have invested millions of dollars into research and programs designed to bolster the STEM pipeline. From this funding and other independently sponsored inquiry, promising programs, initiatives, and research recommendations have been identified. These efforts hold great promise for change, with the potential to transform the education and outcome of STEM students at all levels. This important book discusses many of these promising programs, initiatives, and research-based recommendations that can impact the success of STEM students in the community college. This compilation is timely, on the national landscape, as the federal government has placed increasing importance on improving STEM degree production as a strategy for America’s future stability in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Informed by research and theory, each chapter in this volume blazes new territory in articulating how community colleges can advance outcomes for students in STEM, particularly those from historically underrepresented and underserved communities.

Though there has been a rapid increase of women’s representation in law and business, their representation in STEM fields has not been matched. Researchers have revealed that there are several environmental and social barriers including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities that continue to block women’s progress in STEM. In this book, the authors address the issues that encounter women of color in STEM in higher education.

Contemporary science teaching approaches focus on fostering students to construct new scientific knowledge as a process of inquiry rather than having them act as passive learners memorizing stated scientific facts. Although this perspective of teaching science is clearly emphasized in the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996), it is however challenging to achieve in the classroom. Science teaching approaches should enhance students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts which can be later utilized by students in deeper recognition of real world (Marsak & Janouskova, 2007).

This book identifies and describes several different contemporary science teaching approaches and presents recent applications of these approaches in promoting interest among students. It promotes conceptual understanding of science concepts among them as well. This book identifies pertinent issues related to strategies of teaching science and describes best practice The chapters in this book are culmination of years of extensive research and development efforts to understand more about how to teach science by the distinguished scholars and practicing teachers.

Based on the author's work in science and engineering educational research, this book offers broad, practical strategies for teaching science and engineering courses and describes how faculty can provide a learning environment that helps students comprehend the nature of science, understand science concepts, and solve problems in science courses.

This book's student-centered approach focuses on two main themes: writing to learn (especially Reflective Writing) and interactive activities (collaborative groups and labatorials). When faculty incorporate these methods into their courses, students gain a better understanding of science as a connected structure of concepts rather than as a toolkit of assorted practices.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines play a pivotal role in societal progress and economic prosperity, in addition to enhancing individual lives. However, U.S. students lack strong STEM performance in an international context. The pool of STEM-proficient workers is thus insufficient to fuel the nation, with females being one group that is noticeably absent.

Out-of-school-time (OST) programs, which are on the rise, are increasingly suggested as a way to support and encourage females in STEM. Data collected from participants in OST programs have shown improved achievement, interest, and confidence in STEM, as well as greater awareness of STEM role models and careers.

Out-of-School-Time STEM Programs for Females: Implications for Research and Practice features seven OST STEM programs for females from across the United States that run one week to one year in length. In this book, the chapter authors describe their programs, the effectiveness of those programs, and practical implications of their program evaluation data. This book is the first of its kind to offer researchers, educators, school administrators, policy makers, and others detailed insight into the promise and practice of out-of-school-time STEM programs for females.

Technology maturity: What is it, and why is it important?

For more than ten years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticized federal agencies for a history of cost and schedule overruns on a significant portion of their procurement programs. GAO has repeatedly reported that the use of immature technologies in programs is a primary cause for these overruns. In spite of these repeated reports, the problems in government procurement have not improved. In fact, recent reports indicate that the problems are getting worse.

One cause of this worsening situation might be that, while GAO identified lack of technology maturity as a problem, they did not tell how to measure technology maturity, or conversely, its lack.

This groundbreaking work attempts to fill this gap by examining the current state of technology maturity measurement, pointing out strengths and weaknesses of available measures, and proposing a complete technology maturity assessment as a potential solution. The book also includes a discussion of risk during technology development.

This volume will focus on a much need comparison of science teacher preparation from around the world. In recent times (last 5 years) much has been written and communicated both in the popular press and within the annals of research oriented publications about the performance of students international in math and science. Although not a new discussion or debate, many countries are held as exemplars in how they educate their youth and subsequently how they educate their teachers. Given this situation and given the fact that there is ample evidence to show that some countries youth perform better on tests such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and we know that teacher significantly contribute to the performance of students, it is time that we look at the specific attributes of teacher preparation worldwide.

Although this volume will not look at every country that is in the comparator group for PISA and other measures, we have contacted over 18 potential authors in the same number of countries in which there is ample evidence to show successes regarding student performance and quality teacher preparation programs. The intent of the book is not just to report on the “success” of each nation. Rather the intent is to ask authors to take a critical look at the process by which science teachers are educated and share with the reader both the positive and negative aspects of such preparation programs. For all 15 contributed chapters, the editors have analyzed each and from this constructed from the “data” an analysis and report in a final chapter on the exemplary qualities from various nations and make specific recommendations regarding science teacher preparation for the global community.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines play a pivotal role in societal progress and economic prosperity, in addition to enhancing individual lives. However, U.S. students lack strong STEM performance in an international context. The pool of STEM-proficient workers is thus insufficient to fuel the nation, with females being one group that is noticeably absent.

Out-of-school-time (OST) programs, which are on the rise, are increasingly suggested as a way to support and encourage females in STEM. Data collected from participants in OST programs have shown improved achievement, interest, and confidence in STEM, as well as greater awareness of STEM role models and careers.

Out-of-School-Time STEM Programs for Females: Implications for Research and Practice features seven OST STEM programs for females from across the United States that run one week to one year in length. In this book, the chapter authors describe their programs, the effectiveness of those programs, and practical implications of their program evaluation data. This book is the first of its kind to offer researchers, educators, school administrators, policy makers, and others detailed insight into the promise and practice of out-of-school-time STEM programs for females.

The goal of this volume of Research in Science Education is to examine the relationship between science education policy and practice and the special role that science education researchers play in influencing policy. It has been suggested that the science education research community is isolated from the political process, pays little attention to policy matters, and has little influence on policy. But to influence policy, it is important to understand how policy is made and how it is implemented. This volume sheds light on the intersection between policy and practice through both theoretical discussions and practical examples.

This book was written primarily about science education policy development in the context of the highly decentralized educational system of the United States. But, because policy development is fundamentally a social activity involving knowledge, values, and personal and community interests, there are similarities in how education policy gets enacted and implemented around the world.

This volume is meant to be useful to science education researchers and to practitioners such as teachers and administrators because it provides information about which aspects of the science education enterprise are affected by state, local, and national policies. It also provides helpful information for researchers and practitioners who wonder how they might influence policy. In particular, it points out how the values of people who are affected by policy initiatives are critical to the implementation of those policies.

How do research students and their supervisors respond in a world of ‘fake news’, the destabilisation of public institutions and the rise of populism? The very foundations of our liberal democracies seem to be under threat, and this implicates social inquiry. Postgraduate research remains one of the few information spaces which are still free of politicisation and committed to validation.

This book focuses on democracy in inquiry, and on the role of inquiry in a democracy – how research helps us to deliberate over what counts as of public value. It is a research methods book, but methods shaped by political and ethical purposes, and by the challenge of making judgements about what, in the public sphere, is worthy. We may be looking at a police training program, the siting of a clean energy project, a new school curriculum, maternal health program or an environmental adaptation project – in each case and in others like them we have to negotiate perspectives and claims, forge and justify a consensus, support competing stakeholders with the best information and analyses possible.

And we have to make our work defensible – undeniable in the forum of public debate and exchange, examination and accountability. This book, full of examples from contemporary research projects, is designed to help navigate our way through the complexities of social research which focuses on judgements about public action.

The book was written with research students and includes examples of their work. It recognises that supervisors often struggle as much as students in meeting the challenges of inquiry that involves some element of evaluative judgement – inquiry that potentially carries consequences. Where there are no quick-and-ready recipes, check-lists or theoretical frameworks – where we confront the particularities of the context in which the research takes place, we are all forced back onto good methodological thinking, and this is the pedagogical framing of the book.

The research into how students’ attitudes affect their learning of science related subjects has been one of the core areas of interest by science educators. The development in science education records various attempts in measuring attitudes and determining the correlations between behavior, achievements, career aspirations, gender identity and cultural inclination. Some researchers noted that attitudes can be learned and teachers can encourage students to like science subjects through persuasion. But some view that attitude is situated in context and has much to do with upbringing and environment. The critical role of attitude is well recognized in advancing science education, in particular designing curriculum and choosing powerful pedagogies and nurturing students.

Since Noll’s (1935) seminal work on measuring the scientific attitudes, a steady stream of research papers describing the development and validation of scales have appeared in scholarly publications. Despite these efforts, the progress in this area has been stagnated by limited understanding of the conception of attitude, dimensionality and inability to determine the multitude of variables that made up such concept. This book makes an attempt to take stock and critically examine classical views on science attitudes and explore contemporary attempts in measuring science-related attitudes. The chapters in this book are a reflection of researchers who work tirelessly in promoting science education and highlight the current trends and future scenarios in attitude measurement.

There are only a few studies that investigate the actual small-scale classroom processes and approaches that allow for students to participate in “doing” critical science and none that compare CSE to traditional classroom contexts. In a critical science classroom student’ thoughts, beliefs, and questions serve as the starting point for scientific investigation where an underlying goal is for students to students to utilize this scientific knowledge to empower their own lives. One must ask, “What would this process look like? What would happen to the students?” Pruyn (1999) argued that the difficult nature of this type of research has limited the number of studies that investigate small-scale critical classroom approaches. These classroom interactions and approaches will provide valuable insights into the diffi cult processes that must exist for students to begin to develop transformative notions of the world.

This book is a theoretical inquiry into alternative pedagogies that challenge current standardized practices in the field of science education. Through Mandy Hoffen, a fictional persona, Dana McCullough, the author, explores how stories of Henrietta Lacks become part of a conspiracy to change science education. Mandy Hoffen, however, never expected to find herself in the middle of a conspiracy. As a science teacher of 20 plus years, she worked diligently to meet the needs of her charges, who are currently ninth and tenth grade biology students in an age of standardized testing. The author also creates imaginary dialogues which serve as the theoretical framework for each chapter. Each chapter unfolds in a form of a play with imaginary settings and events that bring Henrietta Lacks back from the grave to participate in conversations about science, society, and social justice. The imaginary conversations are based on the author’s experiences in graduate courses, direct quotations from philosophers of science, historians of science, science educators, curriculum theorists, and stories of students in their study of Henrietta Lacks in a high school biology classroom. The play describes the journey of a graduate student/high school teacher as she researches the importance of the philosophy of science, history of science, science curriculum and social justice in science education. Through reflections on fictional conversations, stories of Henrietta Lacks are examined and described in multiple settings, beginning in an imaginary academic meeting, and ending with student conversations in a classroom. Each setting provides a space for conversations wherein participants explore their personal connections with science, science curriculum, issues of social justice related to science, and Henrietta Lacks.

This book will be of interest to graduate students, scholars, and undergraduates in curriculum studies, educational foundations, and teacher education, and those interested in alternative research methodologies. This is the first book to intentionally address the stories of Henrietta Lacks and their importance in the field of curriculum studies, science studies, and current standardized high school science curriculum.

Technology maturity: What is it, and why is it important?

For more than ten years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticized federal agencies for a history of cost and schedule overruns on a significant portion of their procurement programs. GAO has repeatedly reported that the use of immature technologies in programs is a primary cause for these overruns. In spite of these repeated reports, the problems in government procurement have not improved. In fact, recent reports indicate that the problems are getting worse.

One cause of this worsening situation might be that, while GAO identified lack of technology maturity as a problem, they did not tell how to measure technology maturity, or conversely, its lack.

This groundbreaking work attempts to fill this gap by examining the current state of technology maturity measurement, pointing out strengths and weaknesses of available measures, and proposing a complete technology maturity assessment as a potential solution. The book also includes a discussion of risk during technology development.

While women have influenced the fields of program evaluation and mixed methods research, their contributions are rarely acknowledged. In this edited volume, we recognize the contributions Jennifer C. Greene made to evaluation and mixed methods, focusing on how she disrupted traditional ways methods are conceptualized and implemented. We aim to provide a range of perspectives on how Greene disrupted social science theory, methodology, and training through her commitment to the values of democracy, diversity, and dialogue. Accordingly, the volume makes explicit how Greene democratized social science inquiry and training by emphasizing inclusive, culturally responsive, and educative theories, methods, and pedagogical practices. Second, it clarifies how her commitment to diversity supported scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and cultures (within and beyond the United States) and validated often ignored perspectives on phenomena or experiences. And third, it showcases how her commitment to dialogue opened spaces for non-traditional methodological approaches that engage, communicate, and disseminate program evaluation and mixed methods work. Taken together, the first-hand accounts presented in this volume offer a historical perspective and practical guidance on program evaluation and mixed methods conceptualization, implementation, and training.

This volume will focus on a much need comparison of science teacher preparation from around the world. In recent times (last 5 years) much has been written and communicated both in the popular press and within the annals of research oriented publications about the performance of students international in math and science. Although not a new discussion or debate, many countries are held as exemplars in how they educate their youth and subsequently how they educate their teachers. Given this situation and given the fact that there is ample evidence to show that some countries youth perform better on tests such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and we know that teacher significantly contribute to the performance of students, it is time that we look at the specific attributes of teacher preparation worldwide.

Although this volume will not look at every country that is in the comparator group for PISA and other measures, we have contacted over 18 potential authors in the same number of countries in which there is ample evidence to show successes regarding student performance and quality teacher preparation programs. The intent of the book is not just to report on the “success” of each nation. Rather the intent is to ask authors to take a critical look at the process by which science teachers are educated and share with the reader both the positive and negative aspects of such preparation programs. For all 15 contributed chapters, the editors have analyzed each and from this constructed from the “data” an analysis and report in a final chapter on the exemplary qualities from various nations and make specific recommendations regarding science teacher preparation for the global community.

There are only a few studies that investigate the actual small-scale classroom processes and approaches that allow for students to participate in “doing” critical science and none that compare CSE to traditional classroom contexts. In a critical science classroom student’ thoughts, beliefs, and questions serve as the starting point for scientific investigation where an underlying goal is for students to students to utilize this scientific knowledge to empower their own lives. One must ask, “What would this process look like? What would happen to the students?” Pruyn (1999) argued that the difficult nature of this type of research has limited the number of studies that investigate small-scale critical classroom approaches. These classroom interactions and approaches will provide valuable insights into the diffi cult processes that must exist for students to begin to develop transformative notions of the world.

The research into how students’ attitudes affect their learning of science related subjects has been one of the core areas of interest by science educators. The development in science education records various attempts in measuring attitudes and determining the correlations between behavior, achievements, career aspirations, gender identity and cultural inclination. Some researchers noted that attitudes can be learned and teachers can encourage students to like science subjects through persuasion. But some view that attitude is situated in context and has much to do with upbringing and environment. The critical role of attitude is well recognized in advancing science education, in particular designing curriculum and choosing powerful pedagogies and nurturing students.

Since Noll’s (1935) seminal work on measuring the scientific attitudes, a steady stream of research papers describing the development and validation of scales have appeared in scholarly publications. Despite these efforts, the progress in this area has been stagnated by limited understanding of the conception of attitude, dimensionality and inability to determine the multitude of variables that made up such concept. This book makes an attempt to take stock and critically examine classical views on science attitudes and explore contemporary attempts in measuring science-related attitudes. The chapters in this book are a reflection of researchers who work tirelessly in promoting science education and highlight the current trends and future scenarios in attitude measurement.

Based on the author's work in science and engineering educational research, this book offers broad, practical strategies for teaching science and engineering courses and describes how faculty can provide a learning environment that helps students comprehend the nature of science, understand science concepts, and solve problems in science courses.

This book's student-centered approach focuses on two main themes: writing to learn (especially Reflective Writing) and interactive activities (collaborative groups and labatorials). When faculty incorporate these methods into their courses, students gain a better understanding of science as a connected structure of concepts rather than as a toolkit of assorted practices.

How do research students and their supervisors respond in a world of ‘fake news’, the destabilisation of public institutions and the rise of populism? The very foundations of our liberal democracies seem to be under threat, and this implicates social inquiry. Postgraduate research remains one of the few information spaces which are still free of politicisation and committed to validation.

This book focuses on democracy in inquiry, and on the role of inquiry in a democracy – how research helps us to deliberate over what counts as of public value. It is a research methods book, but methods shaped by political and ethical purposes, and by the challenge of making judgements about what, in the public sphere, is worthy. We may be looking at a police training program, the siting of a clean energy project, a new school curriculum, maternal health program or an environmental adaptation project – in each case and in others like them we have to negotiate perspectives and claims, forge and justify a consensus, support competing stakeholders with the best information and analyses possible.

And we have to make our work defensible – undeniable in the forum of public debate and exchange, examination and accountability. This book, full of examples from contemporary research projects, is designed to help navigate our way through the complexities of social research which focuses on judgements about public action.

The book was written with research students and includes examples of their work. It recognises that supervisors often struggle as much as students in meeting the challenges of inquiry that involves some element of evaluative judgement – inquiry that potentially carries consequences. Where there are no quick-and-ready recipes, check-lists or theoretical frameworks – where we confront the particularities of the context in which the research takes place, we are all forced back onto good methodological thinking, and this is the pedagogical framing of the book.

While women have influenced the fields of program evaluation and mixed methods research, their contributions are rarely acknowledged. In this edited volume, we recognize the contributions Jennifer C. Greene made to evaluation and mixed methods, focusing on how she disrupted traditional ways methods are conceptualized and implemented. We aim to provide a range of perspectives on how Greene disrupted social science theory, methodology, and training through her commitment to the values of democracy, diversity, and dialogue. Accordingly, the volume makes explicit how Greene democratized social science inquiry and training by emphasizing inclusive, culturally responsive, and educative theories, methods, and pedagogical practices. Second, it clarifies how her commitment to diversity supported scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and cultures (within and beyond the United States) and validated often ignored perspectives on phenomena or experiences. And third, it showcases how her commitment to dialogue opened spaces for non-traditional methodological approaches that engage, communicate, and disseminate program evaluation and mixed methods work. Taken together, the first-hand accounts presented in this volume offer a historical perspective and practical guidance on program evaluation and mixed methods conceptualization, implementation, and training.

Contemporary science teaching approaches focus on fostering students to construct new scientific knowledge as a process of inquiry rather than having them act as passive learners memorizing stated scientific facts. Although this perspective of teaching science is clearly emphasized in the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996), it is however challenging to achieve in the classroom. Science teaching approaches should enhance students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts which can be later utilized by students in deeper recognition of real world (Marsak & Janouskova, 2007).

This book identifies and describes several different contemporary science teaching approaches and presents recent applications of these approaches in promoting interest among students. It promotes conceptual understanding of science concepts among them as well. This book identifies pertinent issues related to strategies of teaching science and describes best practice The chapters in this book are culmination of years of extensive research and development efforts to understand more about how to teach science by the distinguished scholars and practicing teachers.

With sea levels rising, marine life disappearing, and global temperatures still climbing, the challenges of SDG14 are as vast and wide as the oceans themselves. Featuring timely work from leading universities, Higher Education and SDG14 offers a ‘deep dive’ into current geopolitical and sustainable affairs, as well as the critical role the higher education community can play in identifying and implementing planet-saving solutions.

Addressing issues such as climate change, aquatic life, habitat management, and conservation, chapters offer key insights, including firsthand accounts from students, into universities’ creative, mission-driven teaching and research. Showcasing the commitment of the aquatic and marine science agenda to fulfilling the core values of SDG14, the authors approach sustainability holistically with a special focus on environmental stewardship and responsibility.

Uniting real-world crises with everyday research and learning, this pioneering work champions the importance of governance and global cooperation for enacting era-defining change and sustaining and protecting life below water.

Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals is a series of 17 books that address each of the SDGs through the lens of higher education. Adopting a solutions-based approach, each book focuses on how higher education is advancing delivery of Agenda 2030. The series is edited by Wendy Purcell, Professor with Rutgers University and Academic Research Scholar with Harvard University; Emeritus Professor and University President Emerita.

This book presents a comprehensive insight into the flooding system, spanning multiple disciplines across different sectors of the flood and flood management professions. It forecasts the manner in which flooding and coastal erosion risks may increase during the 21st century due to climate change and socio-economic development in the UK and presents an examination of the integrated measures necessary to manage future increases in risk, through sustainable methods.

It summarises the previously unpublished science and engineering behind the Foresight Project of Flood and Coastal Defence performed on behalf of the Office of Science and Technology (now the Office of Science and Innovation) and reveals the methodological basis for the study as well as its outcomes.

A qualitative assessment of the drivers of flood and coastal erosion risks under various scenarios are presented, with quantitative analysis outlined to demonstrate the efficacy of national databases and the Risk Assessment for Strategic Planning (RASP) tool. The findings in this book demonstrate that to manage future flood and coastal erosion risks sustainably, a portfolio of integrated measures is required. As many of the measures require long lead-times to become effective, the concluding advice is that the time to act is now.

It provides academics, professionals and decision makers with the science base for envisaging and, in due course, achieving detailed guidance on sustainable flood and coastal risk management in the UK during the 21st century.

The practical application of geomorphological science now forms a regular part of any project involving flood protection, fisheries, conservation, recreation, environmental protection and river restoration. In this book, the authors use their extensive experience gained through fieldwork, analysis, and input to the design process to provide a thorough understanding of geomorphology in the river environment and describe effective ways to incorporate geomorphological science into river engineering and management.

The ICE Coasts, Maritime Structures and Breakwaters conference series, sponsored by the ICE for over thirty years, is the leading international forum for the presentation of the latest developments in coastal and maritime engineering.

The eleventh conference, Realising the Potential, was held in Liverpool from 5th to 7th September 2017. Across the three days, it was attended by over 300 delegates and saw 90 papers presented. This book contains the full discussion notes from each session at the conference as well as 'innovation spotlights' detailing short presentations on new and developing practices and processes.

The topics for 2017 focused on describing the design, construction, analysis and performance of a wide range of maritime structures. The contents contain the latest research and developments and up-to-date guidance and innovations as well as practical lessons learned from experience.

The 90 papers presented here cover a diverse range of topics including

• construction in ports
• working in marine environments
• challenges at the coast
• coastal developments
• breakwater armour
• ecological aspects of design
• developments in overtopping
• waves on structures.

With contributions from those in industry and academia and featuring a wide range of international case studies, these proceedings offer an essential reference for coastal engineers and professionals.

Building Regulations, Codes and Standards is a practical guide to the requirements of the building regulations, explaining how to achieve compliance in order to secure safe, sustainable and healthy developments.

Together, the book and supplementary digital checklists provide a practical resource for ensuring compliance across all technical areas, showing how requirements of safety, environmental performance and occupant wellbeing can become hand-in-hand considerations to be achieved as a coherent whole. Features include

• overview of basic definitions and requirements within the building regulations in England, including functional requirements and guidance contained in approved documents for domestic and commercial development
• supplementary digital checklists that provide a one stop aid to compliance with all technical requirements;
• coverage of changes to the building regulations introduced in 2022, including changes to Approved Document B as a result of the Hackitt Review
• comparison of building regulations and advanced codes and standards that are applied in Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan;
• overview of leading voluntary building rating schemes such as BREEAM New Construction, the Well Building Standard and Home Quality Mark
• blueprint for an internationally applicable regulatory framework as a means of tackling global challenges such as climate change, encompassing all relevant technical areas, design process considerations, and including digital tools that will make it easier to obtain, share, analyse and store data consistently from project to project.

Building Regulations, Codes and Standards is an essential practical reference that is suitable for practitioners across a range of built environment disciplines, including engineers, architects, surveyors, building inspectors, and legal professionals, as well as researchers and students in this area.

On November 4th 2016 the Paris Agreement entered into force. The warming of the climate system, first recognized over a century ago, has become one of the key political and social issues of our time. Some still deny it is happening, others are incensed by the slow pace of change, while most are left confused and uncertain not just by the science, but by the panoply of solutions put forward by politicians, business people, academics and activists. At its most ambitious, the Paris Agreement implies a transition within the global energy system such that carbon dioxide emissions fall rapidly from 40 billion tonnes per annum in 2016, to net-zero by the middle of the century. Yet our fossil fuel based energy system which ushered in the Industrial Revolution nearly 200 years ago continues to grow and evolve even as new sources of energy come into the market and compete.

The principal economic instrument for change is clear and has been for over two decades, but in 2017 only a fraction of the global economy actively employs government led carbon pricing policies and within that only a handful of systems operate at a level commensurate with the pace and scale of change that is necessary.

As deployment of new energy technologies accelerates, can solutions be found to cover the full range of services delivered by fossil fuels and can warming be limited to the agreed global goals? Putting the Genie Back explores the climate issue from its very beginnings through to the end of end of the 21st Century and looks in depth at the transition challenge we collectively face.

Deep Learning in Introductory Physics: Exploratory Studies of Model-Based Reasoning is concerned with the broad question of how students learn physics in a model-centered classroom. The diverse, creative, and sometimes unexpected ways students construct models, and deal with intellectual conflict, provide valuable insights into student learning and cast a new vision for physics teaching. This book is the first publication in several years to thoroughly address the 'coherence versus fragmentation' debate in science education, and the first to advance and explore the hypothesis that deep science learning is regressive and revolutionary. Deep Learning in Introductory Physics also contributes to a growing literature on the use of history and philosophy of science to confront difficult theoretical and practical issues in science teaching, and addresses current international concern over the state of science education and appropriate standards for science teaching and learning.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces the framework, agenda, and educational context of the book. An initial study of student modeling raises a number of questions about the nature and goals of physics education. Part II presents the results of four exploratory case studies. These studies reproduce the results of Part I with a more diverse sample of students; under new conditions (a public debate, peer discussions, and group interviews); and with new research prompts (model-building software, bridging tasks, and elicitation strategies). Part III significantly advances the emergent themes of Parts I and II through historical analysis and a review of physics education research.

Deep Learning in Introductory Physics: Exploratory Studies of Model-Based Reasoning is concerned with the broad question of how students learn physics in a model-centered classroom. The diverse, creative, and sometimes unexpected ways students construct models, and deal with intellectual conflict, provide valuable insights into student learning and cast a new vision for physics teaching. This book is the first publication in several years to thoroughly address the 'coherence versus fragmentation' debate in science education, and the first to advance and explore the hypothesis that deep science learning is regressive and revolutionary. Deep Learning in Introductory Physics also contributes to a growing literature on the use of history and philosophy of science to confront difficult theoretical and practical issues in science teaching, and addresses current international concern over the state of science education and appropriate standards for science teaching and learning.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces the framework, agenda, and educational context of the book. An initial study of student modeling raises a number of questions about the nature and goals of physics education. Part II presents the results of four exploratory case studies. These studies reproduce the results of Part I with a more diverse sample of students; under new conditions (a public debate, peer discussions, and group interviews); and with new research prompts (model-building software, bridging tasks, and elicitation strategies). Part III significantly advances the emergent themes of Parts I and II through historical analysis and a review of physics education research.

The main construction of HS2, Britain’s high-speed rail network, began in September 2020 when Main Works Civils Contractors moved from enabling works, scheme design and preparatory work to full construction of the railway. The low-carbon network will link London and the West Midlands and extend services to the North and Scotland, serving more than 25 stations. High-speed trains will reach speeds of 225mph and transform journey times.

This volume of High Speed Two: Infrastructure Design and Construction from the HS2 Project, contains a collection of papers submitted to HS2 Ltd’s Technical Papers Competition. Contributions have come from consultants, contractors, suppliers and third-party stakeholders involved in developing the planned infrastructure of the HS2 project. As part of HS2’s Learning Legacy commitment, the organisation seeks to share its learnings and best practices with the rest of the industry throughout the project lifecycle.

This volume offers high-quality papers on the best practice in planning, design, construction and management for large-scale railway infrastructure projects. For more papers from HS2 Ltd’s Technical Papers Competition, please see High Speed Two (HS2): Infrastructure Design and Construction (Volume 1), the companion to this volume.

The main construction of HS2, Britain’s high-speed rail network, began in September 2020 when Main Works Civils Contractors moved from enabling works, scheme design and preparatory work to full construction of the railway. The low-carbon network will link London and the West Midlands and extend services to the North and Scotland, serving more than 25 stations. High-speed trains will reach speeds of 225mph and transform journey times.

This volume of High Speed Two: Infrastructure Design and Construction from the HS2 Project, contains a collection of papers submitted to HS2 Ltd’s Technical Papers Competition. Contributions have come from consultants, contractors, suppliers and third-party stakeholders involved in developing the planned infrastructure of the HS2 project. As part of HS2’s Learning Legacy commitment, the organisation seeks to share its learnings and best practices with the rest of the industry throughout the project lifecycle.

This volume offers high-quality papers on the best practice in planning, design, construction and management for large-scale railway infrastructure projects. For more papers from HS2 Ltd’s Technical Papers Competition, please see High Speed Two (HS2): Infrastructure Design and Construction (Volume 2), the companion to this volume.

The main construction of HS2, Britain’s new zero carbon, high-speed railway, began in September 2020, when delivery activity on Phase One moved from enabling works, scheme design and preparatory work to full construction of the railway. The new railway will link London and the West Midlands and eventually extend services to the North and Scotland. High-speed trains powered by zero carbon electricity will reach speeds of 225mph and transform journey times, while opening up capacity on the existing, conventional railway network.

This volume of High Speed Two: Infrastructure Design and Construction from the HS2 Project, contains a collection of papers submitted to HS2 Ltd’s Technical Papers Competition. Contributions have come from consultants, contractors, suppliers and third-party stakeholders involved in the delivery of HS2. As part of HS2’s Learning Legacy programme, the organisation seeks to share its learnings and best practices with the rest of the industry throughout the project lifecycle. This volume includes high-quality papers on best practice in planning, design, construction and management for large-scale railway infrastructure projects. It is divided into two sections: ground engineering (geotechnics, groundworks and earthworks) and structural engineering (bridges, viaducts, tunnels and underground structures).

The main construction of HS2, Britain’s new zero carbon, high-speed railway, began in September 2020, when delivery activity on Phase One moved from enabling works, scheme design and preparatory work to full construction of the railway. The new railway will link London and the West Midlands and eventually extend services to the North and Scotland. High-speed trains powered by zero carbon electricity will reach speeds of 225mph and transform journey times, while opening up capacity on the existing, conventional railway network.

This volume of High Speed Two: Infrastructure Design and Construction from the HS2 Project, contains a collection of papers submitted to HS2 Ltd’s Technical Papers Competition. Contributions have come from consultants, contractors, suppliers and third-party stakeholders involved in the delivery of HS2. As part of HS2’s Learning Legacy programme, the organisation seeks to share its learnings and best practices with the rest of the industry throughout the project lifecycle. This volume includes high-quality papers on best practice in planning, design, construction and management for large-scale railway infrastructure projects. It is divided into three sections: design and architecture, digital engineering and environmental heritage.