Temperature in Science Textbooks: Changes and Trends in Cross-National Perspective (1950–2000)

Catherine Radtka (1)

1 CAK-CRHST - Centre Alexandre Koyré - Centre de Recherche en Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques

This study explores the way the concept of temperature was presented in lower-secondary science textbooks in France, Poland and England at the end of the 1950s and in the 2000s. I draw on history of science, history of education and book history to analyze different treatments of an apparently-similar scientific concept with regard to national contexts and diachronic change. Thus I include a presentation of the contexts in which the textbooks I study are published, and I analyse textbooks content revealing different approaches to present the notion of temperature. I argue that these results show that textbooks are valuable sources to investigate public representations of science and their shift over time, and I conclude by stressing the parallel of this evolution with change in everyday relationship with science and scientific instruments.

Mots clés: Enseignement scientifique; Manuels scolaires; Représentations collectives; Vingtième siècle

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences; Education

Catherine Radtka. Temperature in Science Textbooks: Changes and Trends in Cross-National Perspective (1950–2000). Science and Education, 2013, 22 (4), pp.847-866. ⟨10.1007/s11191-012-9533-x⟩. ⟨halshs-02393823⟩