As perhaps never before in history, the education of the person who has direct responsibility for the teaching of science in our schools has come under the review of our citizenry. Very appropriately, parents, government officials, scientists, and engineers have joined with the professional educators in efforts to determine the basic problems of science and to find means of providing a more adequate education for those who are to become science teachers. Many organizations, agencies, and institutions have been involved in these efforts. Among these are colleges of education, colleges of the arts or of the sciences, certification and accreditation agencies, professional and scientific societies, and numerous agencies of government. These forces, in turn, have been joined by local groups in all regions of our nation. Tentative steps have been taken, and experimental programs of various types have emerged. Experimentation is necessary because, in the education of teachers, research is essential to fundamental advances.

The professional growth of the science teacher has involved, during the last few decades, the acquisition, on the part of the teacher, of an ever increasing amount of knowledge and number of understandings. The rapid growth of science and technology has made the teacher's task of keeping abreast of developments a difficult one. The problems faced by science teachers in their day-to-day work have become increasingly complex. During the same period, the increase of knowledge relating to human behavior and the consequent gain in our understanding of the processes of teaching have given new dimensions to the problem of teacher growth.