History of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to collect and organize historical information about the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and then to construct a written history of the organization. The history began with events preceding NARST's founding in 1928 and continued through many portions of its first 64 years. The three main foci were the membership and the two NARST activities the membership deemed most important--the annual meetings and the journal publications. From 1930 to 1961, Science Education was the Association's official journal. In 1963, NARST launched the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST). Often throughout NARST' s history, activities within the organization were influenced by what was happening within the nation and the world. The search for relevant information sources included personal libraries and files of NARST members; the card catalogs of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City: several indexes and abstracts; computer searches; interlibrary loans: bibliographic references appearing in pertinent articles; recommendations of knowledgeable individuals, several interviews, and specially designed questionnaires. The historical method was employed in this research study. Historical sources were evaluated using both external and internal criticism.