Bill Kyle is the E. Desmond Lee Family Professor of Science Education. He is particularly interested in the socio-cultural, political, and economic issues associated with school reform and the prospects for equity in the process of schooling. The goals of such initiatives are oriented toward enhancing students’ scientific literacy, preparing students for life in a critical democracy, self-and social empowerment, and social transformation. Most recently, Bill was a collaborator on Project SUSTAIN, a collaborative venture among universities and researchers in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Norway and the U.S., with a focus upon generating knowledge and research methodologies oriented toward exploring and promoting access to a socially responsible science, mathematics, and technology education.

Bill’s present interests focus upon reorienting curriculum to address education for sustainable development, by drawing upon the 15 Global Challenges Facing Humanity and the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, to offer a framework for orienting STEM teaching and learning experiences with a focus on empowerment and social transformation. World leaders are hard at work creating a new development agenda. As we learn from the lessons of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), there is much optimism that substantial gains can be made toward addressing the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which was launched by the United Nations in 2015. Yet, where are the voices of science educators? Why such silence? Bill offers a vision and challenge for science educators.

Bill’s professional contributions have been recognized through his selection in 1980 as the author of the manuscript judged to be the most significant contribution to the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST); in 1981, he received the National Science Teachers Association's Gustav Ohaus Award for Innovations in College Science Teaching; in 1982, he was the recipient of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching's Patron Award for the research report judged to have the greatest significance and potential in the field of science education; in 1983, he was co-author of the winner of Southwest Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Paper Award; and in 1990, the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science recognized him as the Outstanding Science Educator of the Year. He served as editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (January 1994 through May 1999), the official journal of NARST, a worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research. In 2003, Bill’s scholarship was recognized by NARST as having been the co-author of one of the thirteen most influential articles published in JRST during its first forty years (1963-2003). Bill served as the executive director of NARST from April 2007 through December 2018.