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The research reported in this paper stemmed from our conviction that argument is a central dimension of both science and science education. Our specific intention was to determine whether secondary science teachers in England give pupils opportunities to develop and rehearse the skills of argumentation during their lessons. We found that classroom discourse was largely teacher dominated and tended not to foster the reflective discussion of scientific issues. Opportunities for the social construction of knowledge, that are afforded by the use of argument-based pedagogical techniques, were few and far between. After a discussion of teachers' responses to this finding, we highlighted two major explanations: firstly, limitations in teachers' pedagogical repertoires; secondly, external pressures imposed upon science teachers in England by the National Curriculum and its assessment system.