*Science Education IDENTIFIERS England; *NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards;

This document discusse ',he state of science education in primary school before and after the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1989 established science as a core subject. The first half describes research and specific efforts to improve science education in the primary grades. It includes the following sections: (1) "Background to the National CurriculUm, " which provides a brief overview of past efforts in curriculum reform; (2) "Implementation of the National Curriculum, " which discusses strategies used to incorporate science into infant classes; and (3) "Teacher's own scientific understanding, " which provides research to support the belief that teacher's subject knowledge plays a major role in effective instruction. The second half of the document encompasses the need for teachers to develop good questions. The discussion includes the following sections: (1) productiv