THE SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO THE NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION
Authors: Lamanauskas Vincentas 
Published: May 2021

A term “Natural Science(s)” most frequently associates with natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geography, etc., i.e. inanimate and animate nature. An extensive list of sci-ences testifies to the complexity of nature and its problematic character. The senior forms of comprehensive school are taught these sciences as individual subjects with little interdependence. Thus, undivided materiali-ty of nature seems to be “disjointed” and a general view of it is lost. Trying to perceive the phenomena that surround us, we always divide the world into single dimensions (for easier perception). What would happen if a chemist saw the world in a hundred – dimensional universe (following the number of chemical ele-ments)?! How deeply and properly one part may be studied it can never disclose the wholeness (a holistic or systemic aspect). On the other hand, we try to design complex systems from the observed and perceived single-dimensional fragments (for example, periodic law, etc.). In this case, any subject of nature cannot describe the wholeness of it. Of course, the view of general nature cannot be fully displayed within the frame of one of its branches. We have lost the real world as the set of interconnected parts. The pictures of the partial worlds (a world of physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) are fragmentary, incoherent and influence our consciousness as a stream of separate pictures. Therefore, it is necessary to form a system that would comprise the knowledge accumulated by all natural sciences establishing the linkage between subjects, inte-grating the knowledge of natural sciences, creating a picture of the world and turning back to the undivided individual world. Thus, in order to clearly realize and understand our environment and nature, to perceive therein existing relations between phenomena and laws, to have orientation in nature following the latest requirements for a scientific knowledge, it is equally important both, the differentiation and integration of natural sciences: the reconstruction of the “disjoined” nature as a unified system in a more advanced level of a theoretic cognition. The task to be resolved is in no manner easy; still the solution has to necessarily be found. The emphasis is put today on one of the reasons indicating why interest in natural sciences is de-creasing. The point is that natural science education (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) stands behind the latest academic science achievements. According to N.Lisov (2000), scientific content is a key component of the educational process that promotes general - theoretic and functional - practical literacy of a person.
The necessity of systemic thinking (approach) unfolds and implements natural science education. The correlation between human being and nature becomes more and more problematic. Human being cannot be treated only as a component of biosphere. The necessary systemic development of both nature and society is considered to be examined. In other words, a mind strategy is needful in the correlation with nature, society and a technical environment. Hypothetically we can say that nature “created” human being and human being established technical (technological) environment, but the latter “turned back” to both nature and human being. How not to wander? Although every living creature, including human being, is able to keep stability (homeostasis) it has to succeed in changing (evolution) as great stability can harm any organism. The sys-temic approach is extremely important to natural science education. The acknowledgment of a single com-ponent does not afford an opportunity to perceive the whole system.
A similar method could be used creating a number of systems. For example, thermodynamics (entro-py, chaos, temperature and thermal energy are fundamental characteristics of thermodynamics), cybernetics (information and management are two fundamental characteristics of cybernetics) and synergetic (a science explaining the links between the phenomena, seeking to find out the origin of new objects that produce new phenomena or disappear) can be examined only as a closely operating system.
Nature study (in a broad sense) is a complex, specific subject. Human being needs to be trained to feel nature and research it what makes him able to immediately communicate with it. Nature value awareness, experience and practice impersonation are the fundamental manifestations of the interaction between human being and nature. This is one of the primary tasks of natural science education in the 21st century.
Key words: science education, systemic approach, human being, general education.