Since 2000 there has been pressure on education systems for develop in students a

number of competences that are described as generic. This pressure stems from studies
of the changing nature of work in the Knowledge Society that is now so dominant. The
DeSeCo project identified a number of these competences, and listed them under the
headings of communicative, analytical and personal. They include thinking, creativity,
communication skills, knowing how to learn, working in teams, adapting to change, and
problem solving.
These competences pose a substantial challenge to the manner in which education as a
whole, and science education in particular, has hitherto been generally conceived. It is
now common to find their importance acknowledged in new formulation of the
curriculum. The paper reviews a number of these curriculum documents and how they
have tried to relate these competences to the teaching and learning of Science, a subject
with its own very specific content for learning. It will be suggested that the challenge
provides an opportunity for a reconstruction of the teaching and learning of science in
schools that will increase its effectiveness for more students.

Constructivism remains one of the most influential approaches to understanding how
children learn in science. Research investigating learning from this approach has led to
the development of a wide range of models that aim to explain the underlying processes
of how concepts change from alternative explanations of phenomena to those that are
scientifically acceptable (Vosniadou, 2008). These models of conceptual change range
in their depth and scope with some attributing change to purely cognitive processes
(Rumelhart & Norman, 1978) whilst others suggest a role for motivation and affective
factors (Pintrich et al, 1993). In addition, contemporary research has begun to explore
the links between the role of practical activity, skills development,
language, and non-verbal behaviour such as gesture in the development of new concepts
and the restructuring of those already held (Crowder & Newman, 1993). This study
utilises a cross-sectional design in order to explore the development of science ideas and
concepts related to electricity and floating and sinking in children aged 7, 11 and 14
years in English classrooms. The study adopts a new and innovative multimodal
approach that combines practical science activities alongside interview and
observational protocols together with the addition of gesture analysis. The results from
this study form the basis of a critique intended to re-evaluate and inform the debate
resulting from different models of conceptual change.