科學教育為教育的一部份,其特質在於「科學素養」,其基本理念在於培養全民科學素養,科學教育應是全民科學教育。多元族群的台灣社會,中小學的科學教育應提供更多不同族群文化的生活經驗分享。然而,過去台灣中小學科學教育長期由主流社會主導,幾乎看不到少數族群的自然知識價值的呈現。原住民學生的文化生活經驗與學校的科學學習無法產生關連,原住民學生看不到學校教的科學知識的價值,對科學學習失去興趣,造成學習困難;同時主流社會的學生對於科學知識的價值也被窄化。本文從科學的文化本質,探討科學、族群文化與科學學習的關係,強調西方科學知識作為一種源自西方文化的知識,與族群文化的傳統自然知識的世界觀差異,對不同族群文化背景的學習者,在科學學習上的衝擊。並討論在此衝擊下,科學教育在多元社會中所引發的科學教育問題與爭議,最後提出台灣多元族群社會中中小學科學教育的發展方向。
Science education is for all citizens in a society. Science education is for cultivating all citizens' scientific literature. School science teaching should provide a learning environment in which all students of cultural diversities are actively participating members. However, science education in the society of Taiwan has been developed under the mainstream population's cultural values. The indigenous people's natural knowledge values are underrepresented in school science education. Hardly can we see connection for indigenous students between their life experiences and science learning. This article is an examination of science education in the society of Taiwan from multicultural perspective. The impacts of the conflict between cultural differences and learning are raised as discussed. Recommendations are made to address the direction of science education development in Taiwan.