Science Education as a Call to Action (original) (raw)
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Socioscientific Issues within Science Education and their Role for Desired Citizenry
This article sought to give an overview of different interpretations and characterizations of socioscientific issues (SSIs) by identifying single entities that could form components of SSI and give examples of where single entities were combined to involve SSI in enhancing scientific literacy. Through a narrative literature review, the article examined how SSI within science education could contribute to promoting citizenship through personally responsible, participatory, justice oriented, and politically concerned reflections to support the development of the desired citizenry. The significance of this article lies on the synthesis of literature on the contribution and barriers of SSI in promoting the desired citizenry.
Toward the sociopolitical in science education
In this paper, we explore how Jacques Rancière’s (The ignorant schoolmaster: five lessons in intellectual emancipation. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1991) notions of radical equality and dissensus reveal horizons for activism and sociopolitical engagement in science education theory, research, and practice. Drawing on Rochelle Gutiérrez’ (J Res Math Educ 44(1):37–68, 2013a. doi:10.5951/jresematheduc.44.1.0037; J Urban Math Educ 6(2):7–19, b) “sociopolitical turn” for mathematics education, we identify how the field of science education can/is turning from more traditional notions of equity, achievement and access toward issues of systemic oppression, identity and power. Building on the conversation initiated by Lorraine Otoide who draws from French philosopher Jacques Rancière to experiment with a pedagogy of radical equality, we posit that a sociopolitical turn in science education is not only imminent, but necessary to meet twenty-first century crises.
Socioscientific Issues within Science Education and their Role in Promoting the Desired Citizenry
Science Education International, 2020
This article sought to give an overview of different interpretations and characterizations of socioscientific issues (SSIs) by identifying single entities that could form components of SSI and give examples of where single entities were combined to involve SSI in enhancing scientific literacy. Through a narrative literature review, the article examined how SSI within science education could contribute to promoting citizenship through personally responsible, participatory, justice oriented, and politically concerned reflections to support the development of the desired citizenry. The significance of this article lies on the synthesis of literature on the contribution and barriers of SSI in promoting the desired citizenry.
Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 2013
Education is aimed at extending the dialogue on socioscientific issues (SSIs) research, with an emphasis on the use of controversy in educational contexts. The emergence of research on SSIs can be understood in terms of: calls for renewal in science curriculum that set the stage for teaching scientific concepts and processes within a rich social, political, and ethical context; the development of a scientific and technical culture; a new alliance between science education and citizenship education; and increased interest in the use of argumentation in science education. Debates at the international level about deep changes in the modes of knowledge production; relationships across science, technology, society, and environment (STSE); and educational forms, contents, and aims have prompted the inclusion of issues and controversial topics in education. In our editorial we offer our thoughts on SSIs in school science and technology-in English (written by Erminia and Virginie) and in French (written by Virginie). Though the pieces were written independently emphasizing different aspects of SSIs, they also contain many overlapping ideas. We finish the editorial with a summary of the seven contributions to the Special Issue and hope that you enjoy the opportunity to engage with the arguments contained in the articles. Résumé: Ce numéro spécial de la Revue canadienne d'enseignement des sciences, des mathématiques et des technologies viseà stimuler le débat sur les questions d'ordre socio-scientifique (SSIs), en mettant l'accent sur l'utilisation de la controverse en contexteéducatif. L'émergence de la recherche sur les questions socio-scientifiques se traduit entre autres par des demandes de renouveau dans les curriculums scientifiques qui ouvrent la porteà un enseignement des concepts et des processus scientifiques dans un contexte riche sur le plan social, politique etéthique, par le développement d'une culture scientifique et technique, par une nouvelle alliance entre l'enseignement des sciences et la formationà la citoyenneté, et aussi par un intérêt accru pour l'utilisation de l'argumentation en enseignement des sciences. Les débats internationaux portant sur les profonds changements survenus
2013
This study formed the preliminary literature review for my doctoral thesis. It aims to critically examine how science education may be leading to unrealistic expectations by students which lead to them withdrawing from a future in science after higher level studies. I will use theoretical arguments that examine how the creation of scientific knowledge through history has influenced our ideas of what science is in modern society. Using theories of power and how they are related to scientific knowledge, I will be examining how education reinforces the power of science, whilst simultaneously, and possibly contradictorily, tries to give all individuals an equal opportunity for scientific literacy. I contend that there is a mismatch in how science is portrayed in secondary school education compared to the science practiced in the real world. The changes in the school science curricula are analysed to explore the power struggle between an authentic experience of science and the political aims in science education. In doing this I hope to identify potential areas for a more in-depth study of how education may be creating an illusion of the science professions which is resulting in a struggle for to retain scientists after graduation.
Science for life - a conceptual framework for construction and analysis of socio-scientific cases
2009
The aim of this paper is to describe a conceptual framework to be used as a tool for analyzing work with socio-scientific issues (SSI) and for constructing SSI cases in secondary school. The framework con- sists of six components describing the more detailed characteristics of SSI. The components were cho- sen to reflect what we know from research about what might have an impact on students' learning and interest in science. Six socio-scientific cases were then constructed and these are discussed in the article. The cases are relevant in that they both display the characteristics of SSI and meet the require- ments of the Swedish national curriculum. The components and the cases are described in a table. This work is the first step in an evidence-based research project aiming at investigating if, how and why students and teachers in secondary school develop knowledge and interests when working with SSI.
Socioscientific issues in science education: labels, reasoning, and transfer
Cultural Studies of Science Education, 2009
This paper provides a critical analysis of some of the issues raised in Simonneaux and Simonneaux's analysis of socioscientific reasoning among a group of university level students negotiating three socioscientific issues. I first discuss the labels used to reference approaches in science education that prioritize socially relevant issues and the science related to these issues. I draw distinctions between approaches labeled science-technology-society (STS), the socioscientific issues framework, and les questions socialement vives (socially acute questions), which Simonneaux and Simonneaux introduce. Next, I discuss ways in which Simonneaux and Simonneaux's use socioscientific reasoning as an analytic construct varies with respect to its initial conceptualization. The primary distinctions include linguistic inconsistencies and the conceptual differences these language choices confer, expansion of the construct to subsume a broader range of practices, and issues related to unit of analysis (i.e., applying socioscientific reasoning as an analytic resource for assessing individual practice vs. group patterns). Finally, the issue of transfer of socioscientific reasoning is addressed. When considering the extent to which and how students leverage experiences and practice relative to the exploration of one socioscientific issue to inform their negotiation of another, I suggest that researchers and practitioners consider the distinction between the content of arguments advanced and underlying reasoning patterns. The tension between embedding science in meaningful, specific contexts and promoting forms of scientific literacy applicable to diverse, sociallyrelevant issues emerges as an important point of emphasis for educators interested in the socioscientific issues (or socially acute questions) movement.
Science Education, 2008
This paper examines the framings that the fields of the social studies of science and science education use for each other. It is shown that the social studies of science frames science education as passive and timeless. Science education frames science studies as a set of representations to better capture how science works. The paper then proceeds to sketch an alternative in which schools are understood, drawing on actor-network theory and cultural studies of science, as constituted through contesting scientific practices and discourses and, therefore, are proper objects of study within science studies frameworks. The curricular implications are briefly developed, emphasizing the need for much more reflection upon and activism within science education regarding the technoscientific constitution of students and schools.