The paper outlines the significant influence of constructivism in contemporary science and mathematics education, and emphasises the central role that epistemology plays in constructivist theory and practice. It is claimed that despite the anti-empiricism of much constructivist writing, in most forms its epistemology is nevertheless firmly empiricist. In particular it is subject-centered and experience-based. It is argued that its relativist, if not skeptical conclusions, only follow given these empiricist assumptions. Further it is suggested that such assumptions belong to Aristotelian science, and were effectively overthrown with the modern science of Galileo and Newton. Thus constructivism cannot provide understanding of post-Aristotelian science.
Matthews M. (1998) Introductory comments on philosophy and constructivism in science education. In: Matthews M. (ed.) Constructivism in science education: A philosophical examination. Kluwer, Dordrecht: 1–10. https://cepa.info/3005
This article indicates something of the enormous influence of constructivism on contemporary science education. The article distinguishes educational constructivism (that has its origins in theories of children’s learning), from constructivism in the philosophy of science (usually associated with instrumentalist views of scientific theory), and from constructivism in the sociology of science (of which the Edinburgh Strong Programme in the sociology of scientific knowledge is the best known example). It notes the expansion of educational constructivism from initial considerations of how children come to learn, to views about epistemology, educational theory, ethics, and the cognitive claims of science. From the learning-theory beginnings of constructivism, and at each stage of its growth, philosophical questions arise that deserve the attention of educators. Among other things, the article identifies some theoretical problems concerning constructivist teaching of the content of science.
Originally published as: Matthews M. R. (1997) Introductory comments on philosophy and constructivism in Science Education. Science & Education 6(1–2): 5–14.
Matthews M. (2000) Appraising constructivism in science and mathematics education. In: Phillips D. C. (ed.) Constructivism in education: Opinions and second opinions on controversial issues. University of Chicago Press, Chicago: 161–192.
Matthews M. (2015) Constructivism and science education. Chapter 8 in: Science teaching: The contribution of history and philosophy of science. 20th anniversary revised and expanded edition. Routledge, London: 299–328. https://cepa.info/3085
Matthews M. R. (1992) Constructivism and the empiricist legacy. In: Pearsall M. K. (ed.) Scope, sequence and coordination of secondary school science: Relevant research. National Science Teachers Association, Washington DC: 183–196.
Matthews M. R. (1993) Constructivism and science education: Some epistemological problems. Journal of Science Education and Technology 2(1): 359–370. https://cepa.info/3003
The paper outlines the significant influence of constructivism in contemporary science and mathematics education and emphasizes the central role that epistemology plays in constructivist theory and practice. It is claimed that constructivism is basically a variant of old-style empiricist epistemology, which had its origins in Aristotle’s individualist and sense-based theory of knowledge. There are well-known problems with empiricism from which constructivism appears unable to dissociate itself.
Matthews M. R. (1993) Old wine in new bottles: A problem with constructivist epistemology. In: Alexander H. (ed.) Philosophy of education 1992. Proceedings of the 48th annual meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society. Philosophy of Education Society, Urbana IL: 303–311.
Reprinted in (2015) Science teaching: The contribution of history and philosophy of science. 20th anniversary revised and expanded edition. Routledge, London: 299–328
Matthews M. R. (1994) Discontent with constructivism. Studies in Science Education 24: 165–172. https://cepa.info/6989
Review of The Content of Science. A Constructivist Approach to its Teaching and Learning, edited by Peter Fensham, Richard Gunstone and Richard White, Farmer Press, London, 1994.
Matthews M. R. (1997) A bibliography for philosophy and constructivism in Science Education. Science & Education 6(1–2): 197–201.
The research literature on educational constructivism is voluminous (see the Carmichael (1990) Pfundt & Duit (1994) and Driver et al. (1994b) bibliographies cited below). The research – in both the Piagetian and Alternative Conception traditions – covers children’s learning, cognitive development, curriculum development, classroom practices, teacher education, and much else. There is a further enormous literature on constructivism in philosophy of science (see Leplin (1984) and Churchland & Hooker (1985)), and on constructivism in the sociology of science (see Brown (1984), McMullin (1988, 1992). In turn these latter literatures overlap with the ocean of writing on post-modernist theory of knowledge and cognition (see Gross & Levitt (1994)). The following references relate mostly to educational constructivism, and then, with some exceptions, to articles that address epistemological and philosophical matters in science education. Even so it is not an exhaustive list, but hopefully it will be useful for teachers and researchers in the field. The author welcomes additions or omissions being brought to his attention.