Against the background of a changing world and major developments in biological sciences, this paper addresses two overarching questions: What can biological education contribute to the general education of young people in 21st Century? and How might we approach biological education in order to meet the future demands of society? It argues that, by teaching about and through biology, we can contribute to the general education of young people enabling them to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. Furthermore it outlines some principles to guide the development of the biology curriculum, emphasises the importance of young peoples’ own ideas in teaching and learning and highlights the key role of formative assessment. In considering biological education for 21st Century the paper emphasises: the need for different sectors (government, education, science and industry) to work together, the need to develop creative approaches to pedagogy and, importantly, the need to hold high expectations for quality and achievement.

Ob spreminjajočem se svetu in velikem napredku biološke znanosti si v članku zastavljam krovni vprašanji: Kaj lahko biološko izobraževanje prispeva k splošni izobrazbi mladih v 21. stoletju? in Kako naj zasnujemo biološko izobraževanje, da bo ustrezalo prihodnjim potrebam družbe? S poučevanjem o biologiji in skozi biologijo lahko prispevamo k splošni izobrazbi mladih, da se bodo uspešno učili ter postali samozavestne osebe in odgovorni državljani. Poleg tega predstavljam nekatere smernice za razvoj učnih načrtov za biologijo, pomen lastnih predstav mladih pri poučevanju in učenju ter ključno vlogo sprotnega preverjanja znanja. Za biološko izobraževanje v 21. stoletju so pomembni sodelovanje med različnimi sektorji (vlado, izobraževanjem, znanostjo in industrijo), razvoj ustvarjalnih pristopov k pedagogiki ter visoka pričakovanja o kakovosti in dosežkih učencev.