A review of science teaching approaches for equity focusing on race, class, and religion from the perspectives of Freire's and Arendt's theories of education

This paper presents a literature review of science teaching approaches that seek to support equity in science classrooms, focusing on marginalization based on (i) race/ethnicity, (ii) social class/socioeconomic background, and (iii) religion. Considered were approaches that science teachers can use...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science education (Salem, Mass.) Vol. 108; no. 4; pp. 1191 - 1221
Main Author: Rüschenpöhler, Lilith
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Wiley Periodicals Inc 01.07.2024
Subjects:
Educational Theories
Educational theory
Pedagogy
Race
racial discrimination
Racism
religion and science
Science education
Science Teachers
secondary schools
social discrimination
Teaching
teaching methods
ISSN:0036-8326, 1098-237X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This paper presents a literature review of science teaching approaches that seek to support equity in science classrooms, focusing on marginalization based on (i) race/ethnicity, (ii) social class/socioeconomic background, and (iii) religion. Considered were approaches that science teachers can use in science classes in secondary schools. They were analyzed and discussed against the backdrop of critical pedagogy by Paulo Freire and the educational theory by Hannah Arendt, which constitutes a novelty in science education research. The review used meta interpretation combined with systematic searches in the ERIC database. It is, thus, limited to works published in English. A total of 930 articles (2013–2021) were identified out of which 64 were fully analyzed. The analysis shows that most approaches strive to provide more equal access to the existing science knowledge and structures of the community. This corresponds to the introduction to the “old world” in a conservative interpretation of Arendt's term. I argue that in addition, it is necessary to employ a more radical interpretation of the “old world” as fundamentally plural which is done in translanguaging and grappling with racism. Further, the transformative nature of science education needs to be strengthened in terms of Freire's critical pedagogy and Arendt's concept of natality. This means allowing students to become aware of oppressive structures to induce change. Only youth participatory science, youth participatory action research, and grappling with racism explicitly aim for this. This shows that nuanced perspectives on equity in science education are needed.
Bibliography:This research was conducted in Germany.
This work is original, unpublished research that is not submitted to another publishing outlet.
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ISSN:0036-8326
1098-237X
DOI:10.1002/sce.21868