Goals and Methods in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education in the Netherlands. Report of a Conference in the Framework of the OECD Project, 'Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education.'

The aim of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) project "Science, Mathematics, and Technology" is to formulate recommendations for educational policy. Preparations for the project were made in each of the various member countries. Reported here are the results of the Netherlands meeting. The conference and this report should be seen in the context of Dutch education, in which several political factors play a role. This report contains the papers that were presented, as well as the impressions of the discussions that followed and suggestions for questions to be studied in the project. Two themes discussed included: "Goals and Content" and "Methods and Settings." Papers include: (1) "Towards providing the basis for sustainable development? The reality or fiction of environmental education in schools"; (2) "Goals and contents, how can they assessed?"; (3) "Introduction to the teaching of technology in Dutch secondary schools. A survey of the development of Goals and Content for technology education"; (4) "In search of contexts in mathematics for 12-16 year-olds"; (5) "Teaching physics and context in the Netherlands"; and (6) "Settings and methods in education in technology in the Netherlands." Also included are opinions about the Dutch participation in the OECD project "SMT Education." (KR)