The paper by Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons, and Howes (2005) discusses the distinction between Science, Technology, and Society (STS) education and Socioscientific Issues (SSI) education. STS education, while important, often lacks a coherent developmental or sociological framework that explicitly considers the psychological and epistemological growth of students, as well as the development of character and virtue. In contrast, SSI education focuses on empowering students to consider how science-based issues reflect moral principles and virtues in their lives and the broader world. The authors propose a research-based framework for SSI education that identifies factors associated with reasoning about socioscientific issues and provides a model illustrating the theoretical and conceptual links among key psychological, sociological, and developmental factors. They argue that SSI education is more than just a context for learning science; it is a pedagogical strategy with clear goals, aiming to promote moral and ethical development alongside scientific literacy. The framework they propose includes four areas of pedagogical importance: nature of science issues, classroom discourse issues, cultural issues, and case-based issues. These areas are essential for fostering functional scientific literacy and addressing moral and ethical dimensions of scientific topics. The authors emphasize the importance of integrating these elements to create a comprehensive and effective SSI education that prepares students for informed decision-making in complex, real-world contexts.The paper by Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons, and Howes (2005) discusses the distinction between Science, Technology, and Society (STS) education and Socioscientific Issues (SSI) education. STS education, while important, often lacks a coherent developmental or sociological framework that explicitly considers the psychological and epistemological growth of students, as well as the development of character and virtue. In contrast, SSI education focuses on empowering students to consider how science-based issues reflect moral principles and virtues in their lives and the broader world. The authors propose a research-based framework for SSI education that identifies factors associated with reasoning about socioscientific issues and provides a model illustrating the theoretical and conceptual links among key psychological, sociological, and developmental factors. They argue that SSI education is more than just a context for learning science; it is a pedagogical strategy with clear goals, aiming to promote moral and ethical development alongside scientific literacy. The framework they propose includes four areas of pedagogical importance: nature of science issues, classroom discourse issues, cultural issues, and case-based issues. These areas are essential for fostering functional scientific literacy and addressing moral and ethical dimensions of scientific topics. The authors emphasize the importance of integrating these elements to create a comprehensive and effective SSI education that prepares students for informed decision-making in complex, real-world contexts.