Abstract
This article describes the newly‐developed science curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools in Botswana. It should be of particular interest to readers in other developing countries, which may be in positions similar to those of Botswana. The article describes, in particular, how Botswana attempted to make a science curriculum that would be of immediate practical use to pupils leaving school after nine years of formal schooling. Examples have been selected from the syllabus to illustrate how the course relates to the needs of the individual and the social environment in which he lives.