Science Education: Talent Recruitment and Public Understanding (Nato: Science and Technology Policy, 38)

The book is a unique survey of the best science education practices with special emphasis on scientific research training. Its content provides a great help to all teachers dealing with talented students and to all scientists and activists in the field of science education. Science education is an important element of the recruitment of further generations for scientific research. This complex process - optimally - begins at the nursery and ends by the completion of a PhD study. A key point is the science education of high school students, who are in a very susceptible age to ask clear questions about the world around them, and to seek answers in a methodological way, as science does. This age, between 14 and 19 is the age of self-test, where the adolescent tries his strength and capabilities. Scientific research provides a unique and unparalleled opportunity for outstanding achievements even at this young age. The hierarchy-free atmosphere of a good scientific group gives the talented high school student a long-sought freedom and a unique opportunity to break from the original social and economical circumstances of the family. All these benefits would really be a treasure in the conflict-loaded, differentiated societies of Central-Eastern Europe. However, despite existing practices of highly successful science education initiatives in NATO countries of Western Europe and America, there are very few successful examples of research training of high school students in Central-Eastern European NATO and NATO partner countries. The book summarizes the best contributions from a workshop helping to establish more of these research training practices in CEE countries.Peter Csermely is the author of 'Science Education: Talent Recruitment and Public Understanding (Nato: Science and Technology Policy, 38)' with ISBN 9781586033088 and ISBN 1586033085.