Abstract:

Scientific knowledge is the core content of science education. Different views on scientific knowledge directly influence the perspectives on science education and the forms of teaching practices. To promote the reform and development of science education, it is essential to continuously clarify the fundamental concept of the view on scientific knowledge. To reconcile the theoretical contradictions between the Positivism and Constructivism views on scientific knowledge and the practical difficulties, Roy Bhaskar’s Critical Realism view on scientific knowledge organically integrates the reasonable components of the two views with the critical perspective. This theory holds that scientific knowledge originates from the objectively knowable world but has relative truth; the acquisition of scientific knowledge is based on evidence and reasoning and rooted in social construction; the value of scientific knowledge includes both cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions. The critical realism view on scientific knowledge helps deepen students’ understanding of scientific knowledge, promote in-depth teaching of scientific knowledge, enriches the ways students engage in scientific learning, and achieves an organic combination of knowledge construction and scientific inquiry. It also broadens the pathways for cultivating scientific thinking and guides students in dialectically addressing complex social science issues.

Key words: view on scientific knowledge, Critical Realism, science education in primary and secondary schools, Positivism, Constructivism