the thcentury french scientist claude bernard famously wrote that science is a superb and dazzling hall but one which may be reached only by passing through a long and ghastly kitchen osborne simon and collins writing more than a century later comment that the essential irony of a discipline that offers intellectual liberation from the shackles of received wisdom is that the education it offers is authoritarian dogmatic and nonreflexive crosscountry differences in science teaching and their association with students performance and interest in a sciencerelated career are presented in chapter ofvolume ii in a majority of countries and economies students from advantaged backgrounds are more likely to expect a career in science even among students who perform similarly in science and who reported similar enjoyment of learning science several actions have been suggested to close this gender gap and more generally to encourage more young people especially those from groups that are now underrepresented in sciencerelated fields to participate in further sciencerelated study and work