Early in 2023, and for the third year in a row, the UK government decided to allow the ‘emergency’ use of the pesticide thiamethoxam (a type of neonicotinoid) on sugar beet in England. Thiamethoxam is normally banned because it is incredibly toxic to bees and other insects. A single teaspoon can kill over a thousand million bees.
Should school children consider ethical issues such as whether these pesticides should be used? In our newly published book The Place of Ethics in Science Education: Implications for Practice, we look at the arguments for and against the inclusion of ethical issues in science education.
Some people argue that the function of science education, in schools and elsewhere, is to introduce learners to core scientific knowledge and scientific practices. The most, therefore, that ethics might be expected to do is to help motivate learners. For example, if teaching in a lesson about food webs, one might include a little bit about the ethical implications of pesticide use, for interest’s sake. One could help students to think about the effects of bee deaths on other organisms in the food web.
Other people think that while a central function of science education is indeed to introduce learners to core scientific knowledge and scientific practices, these are frequently intertwined with ethical questions. Furthermore, it is only a minority of school students who are interested in science for its own sake. Most learners want to see the relevance of what they are learning, and they are more likely to find science interesting if it is discussed in context, with ethical issues being explored.
