Efforts to change the way science is taught will fail without systemic reform , including changes in preservice and administrative preparation programs. Educational reform takes time . Administrators, teachers, parents, and students may be slow in changing their attitudes relating to science education. In order to succeed, reform efforts must be comprehensive . Community support and political leadership are essential to any educational reform movement.
Some educators defend the boundaries between science disciplines as logical.
They prefer learners to connect elements of knowledge into larger concepts one discipline at a time. Some educators believe that the study of physical science should be postponed until middle school or high school, when students presumably know more about math. Some educators advocate a strong focus on vocabulary, facts, formulas, labels, and other basic skills in elementary and middle school science. They fear that emphasizing the science process will detract from learning the basic facts. Some educators neglect cross-discipline opportunities in the belief that some students are just not good in science.