Science and its 'other': looking underneath 'woman' and 'science' for new directions in research on gender and science education

In this article, the author argues that, despite recent increases in the pa rticipation and achievement of girls in school science programmes, the prob lem. of gender and science education has not been solved, but is simply re- emerging at other sites. The author argues that much of the published resea rch on gender and science education reproduces, rather than solves, the pro blem, through the way in which it assumes, rather than examines, the two ce ntral terms of the problem. The author argues that, if the problem of gende r and science education is produced via certain of the assumptions which un derlie its two central terms-that is, 'gender' and 'science'-then its solut ion must involve the deconstruction of those terms. Part of the article beg ins this deconstruction. This is followed by an account of how this materia l might be used to design school science programmes which are capable of al lowing young women to participate in science as women, rather than as 'subs titute' men.