Sreyashi Jhumki Basu: Building a more equitable world through science education

Dr. Sreyashi Jhumki Basu was a scholar committed to equity and social justice in science education who passed away in December 2008. In this essay, I describe Jhumki’s research and the call to action her life’s work has laid out for the science education community. In particular, I draw attention to the role of critical science agency in learning and the democratic science pedagogy model that Jhumki developed to support students in crafting such agency.

Jong-Hsiang Yang: a major promoter of Taiwanese science education

This article reviews the work of Jong-Hsiang Yang in science education and his efforts in creating a research culture in Taiwan. Following in Yang’s footprints, the rebuilding of science education, implementing a new science curriculum, and gaining the academic status of science education, we go through the important years of the development of science education in Taiwan. His leadership in introducing interpretive research methods and expanding international studies catalyzed profound changes to science education research in Taiwan.

Ocean to outback: Léonie Rennie’s contribution to science education in Australia

In this article I initially borrow a metaphor from an art exhibition, Ocean to Outback, as a way to express my perspective on the contribution that Léonie Rennie has made to science education in Australia. I then consider Léonie’s contributions as overlapping themes. In particular, Léonie’s well-known research on gender and issues of equity in science education is explored as well as her highly regarded work on learning science in out-of-school settings. Curriculum integration is a less well-known aspect of Léonie’s research that also is considered. Léonie’s important contributions to research training and policy in science education are briefly described and commented on. Finally, I return to the metaphor of Ocean to Outback that reflects the enormity of the contribution that Léonie has made but also gives insight into her personal journey and qualities.

Supporting Teachers’ Use of Technology in Science Instruction Through Professional Development: A Literature Review

Professional development is critical in supporting teachers’ use of technological tools in classrooms. This review of empirical research synthesizes the effective elements of professional development programs that support science teachers in learning about technology integration. Studies are examined that explore how professional development supports technology use within inquiry-based and traditional science instruction. Implications for future research are discussed in four areas: understanding and building on teachers’ beliefs about science and technology; supporting teacher learning by supporting teachers’ examination of students’ work; using technology to support teacher communities and social networks; and sustaining teachers’ learning beyond formal professional development programs.

When does the researcher (should) also become a resource for the bricoleur teacher? A review of Ajay Sharma’s Portrait of a science teacher as a bricoleur : A case study from India

This paper provides a critical review essay of Ajay Sharma’s Portrait of a science teacher as a bricoleur: A case study from India. The main focus is two fold. First, arguments are presented to draw attention to how little advances in science teaching and science learning research have impacted teachers’ practice and student achievement in the last 40 years. Second, the paper describes how the researcher’s traditionally detached role and truncated agency may inadvertently contribute to preserving the status quo by only documenting the Other’s struggles and challenges. I suggest that researchers need to re-conceptualize their roles as co-agents of change if we are to assist the Other effect positive and long-lasting change in the increasingly complex and demanding contexts in which teachers are expected to teach and students to learn.

National Identity in a Multicultural Society: Malaysian Children’s Literature in English

This article explores the question of how children’s literature reflects national identity in a diverse society. Drawing parallels with Ellison’s Invisible Man, it speculates on how literary omissions and misrepresentations of diverse groups may influence the minds of young readers in their attitudes toward themselves, their nation, and others. In a sampling of the current children’s picture book literature of Malaysia in English, it relates current thinking in multiculturalist and post-colonial theory to the forms of multiculturalism found in these works. It examines this literature’s representations of history, diversity, class, gender, and values to determine who is represented, how they are portrayed, who is excluded, and what values are promoted, exploring what image of national identity this literature projects.

Mexican-American Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Expectations: Do Perceptions Differ Depending on Student Achievement Levels?

This exploratory study examines the learning beliefs of high and low achieving, low-income Mexican-American students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 ninth grade students. The qualitative analysis shows that students’ perceptions of their teachers’ expectations of a “good” student or a “not so good” student did not differ along achievement lines. However, the students’ perceptions about what it means to be a good student differentiated the low-achievers from the high-achievers. This study’s findings may be used to inform educators about Mexican-American students’ orientation towards school and learning, in hopes for creating more equitable educational settings where all students achieve to their fullest potential.

Urban science classrooms and new possibilities: on intersubjectivity and grammar in the third space

In this article I explore research in urban science education inspired by the work of Kris Gutierrez in a paper based on her 2005 Scribner Award. It addresses key points in Gutierrez’s work by exploring theoretical frameworks for research and approaches to teaching and research that expand the discourse on the agency of urban youth in corporate school settings. The work serves as an overview of under-discussed approaches and theoretical frameworks to consider in teaching and conducting research with marginalized urban youth in urban science classrooms.

Authentic science experiences as a vehicle for assessing orientation towards science and science careers relative to identity and agency: a response to “learning from the path followed by Brad”

This response draws from the literature on adaptive learning, traditional ecological knowledge, and social–ecological systems to show that Brad’s choice is not a simple decision between traditional ecological knowledge and authentic science. This perspective recognizes knowledge systems as dynamic, cultural and historical activities characterized by diverse worldviews and ways of constructing and legitimizing knowledge. Brad’s decision is seen as an example of adaptive learning, identity development and personal/collective agency oriented to increasing tribal influence in resource management decisions and policies. I will conclude that science literacy for all is not served by a transcendent, universal, Western modern view of science.

Teachers’ Perspectives on a Professional Development Intervention to Improve Science Instruction Among English Language Learners

Our 5-year professional development intervention is designed to promote elementary teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in teaching science, along with English language and mathematics for English Language Learning (ELL) students in urban schools. In this study, we used an end-of-year questionnaire as a primary data source to seek teachers’ perspectives on our intervention during the first year of implementation. Teachers believed that the intervention, including curriculum materials and teacher workshops, effectively promoted students’ science learning, along with English language development and mathematics learning. Teachers highlighted strengths and areas needing improvement in the intervention. Teachers’ perspectives have been incorporated into our on-going intervention efforts and offer insights into features of effective professional development initiatives in improving science achievement for all students.

Science and creationism: a response to Kenneth Tobin

In his December editorial on Michael Reiss, Kenneth Tobin (Cult Stud Sci Educ 3:793–798, 2008), raises some very important questions for science and science teachers regarding science education and the teaching of creationism in the classroom. I agree with him that students’ creationist ideologies should be treated not as misconceptions but as worldviews. Because of creationism’s peculiarly strong political links though, I argue that such discussion must address three critical and interconnected issues, including the uncertain state of teaching evolution in public schools nationally, the political convergence of the creationist political beliefs with bigoted worldviews, and creationism’s inherent contrariness to science and human progress. I suggest that we as science educators therefore not consider all sides to be equally right and to instead take side against the politics of creationism. I also argue that we need much more serious discussion on how to better teach science to students who hold creationist worldviews, and that science educators such as Reiss need to be part of that.

Intellectual innovation or intellectual retrofitting: on agency, culture and access to science education

A great challenge in education research involves the difficulty of differentiating between studies that apply commonly understood theoretical perspectives and recognizing studies that merely rename old theoretical frameworks. This conflict between intellectual innovation and intellectual retrofitting emerges as central to Basu, Calabrese-Barton, Clairmont, and Lock’s exploration of the relationship between critical agency and student identity development in science.

Knowing Who Your Friends Are: Aspects of the Politics of Logical Empiricism

This paper comments on Reisch’s book How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science. Overall supportive of Reisch’s project and perspective, it raises certain points where the data appear inconclusive and either provides additional support or briefly explores some interpretative alternatives.

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The Contribution of Trade Books to Early Science Literacy: In and Out of School

Lifelong science literacy begins with attitudes and interests established early in childhood. The use of trade books (i.e., a literary work intended for sale to the general public) in North American school classrooms to support the development of science literacy invites an examination of the quality of science content disseminated to students. A total of 116 trade books were examined to: (a) determine the degree to which science trade books complement expected science knowledge outcomes outlined in school curricula, and (b) compare trade book content to the goals of scientific literacy. Analysis across four science topics, Dinosaurs, Space, Inheritance, and Growth and Life Properties, revealed that this body of children’s literature is inconsistent in its coverage of curricular goals and elements of scientific literacy. Because trade books represent children’s first exposure to science, these shortcomings should be addressed if these books are to be maximally effective in promoting science literacy. Implications for using trade books in the classroom are discussed.

Should educational leadership focus on best practices or next practices?

Policy makers and leadership developers now admonish both aspiring and practicing educational leaders to base what they do on evidence of “best practice”. Some argue, however, that today’s best practices stand a reasonably good chance of being unsuitable for schools in the future. Unfortunately, effective leadership in future schools is empirically unknowable. This paper unpacks the arguments about “best” and “next” practices concluding that there is an empirically defensible foundation for current and future leaders.

Beyond Borders: Reading “Other” Places in Children’s Literature

The author analyzes two texts, Gloria Whelan’s Homeless Bird and Deborah Ellis’s Parvana’s Journey, in an attempt to explain some of the problems and difficulties associated with those texts. The author examines Whelan’s representations of India and finds troubling binaries associated with that text. In comparison, the author finds Ellis’s depictions of Afghanistan more nuanced and complex. The author also discusses student reception of both texts and offers ways to problematize some of their reactions.

On semiotics and subjectivity: a response to Tony Brown’s “signifying ‘students’, ‘teachers’, and ‘mathematics’: a reading of a special issue”

In this response we address some of the significant issues that Tony Brown raised in his analysis and critique of the Special Issue of Educational Studies in Mathematics on “Semiotic perspectives in mathematics education” (Sáenz-Ludlow & Presmeg, Educational Studies in Mathematics 61(1–2), 2006). Among these issues are conceptualizations of subjectivity and the notion that particular readings of Peircean and Vygotskian semiotics may limit the ways that authors define key actors or elements in mathematics education, namely students, teachers and the nature of mathematics. To deepen the conversation, we comment on Brown’s approach and explore the theoretical apparatus of Jacques Lacan that informs Brown’s discourse. We show some of the intrinsic limitations of the Lacanian idea of subjectivity that permeates Brown’s insightful analysis and conclude with a suggestion about some possible lines of research in mathematics education.

Joe L. Kincheloe: Embracing criticality in science education

This article reviews significant contributions made by Joe L. Kincheloe to critical research in science education, especially through a multimethodological, multitheoretical, and multidisciplinary informed lens that incorporates social, cultural, political, economic, and cognitive dynamics—the bricolage. Kincheloe’s ideas provide for a compelling understanding of, and insights into, the forces that shape the intricacies of teaching and learning science and science education. They have implications in improving science education policies, in developing actions that challenge and cultivate the intellect while operating in ways that are more understanding of difference and are socially just.

Postcolonial foldings of space and identity in science education: limits, transformations, prospects

The four essays reviewed here constitute a worthwhile attempt to discuss various aspects of postcolonial theory, and offer constructive ideas to ongoing academic as well as public conversations with respect to whether science education can meet the challenges of educating an increasingly diverse population in the 21st century. These essays are grounded in the assumption that it is difficult to make meaningful and transformative changes in science education so that educators’ efforts take into consideration the dramatic changes (i.e., diverse culture and racial origins, language, economic status etc.) of ‘an era of globalization’ in order to meet the demands of today’s schools. Each of these four essays problematizes various aspects of the social and cultural conditions of science education nowadays using different ‘postcolonial’ ideas to interpret the implications for science learning and teaching. Although the term ‘postcolonial’ has certainly multiple meanings in the literature, we use this term here to describe the philosophical position of these essays to challenge long-standing and hegemonic practices and taken-for-granted assumptions in science education. Through critical analysis of these essays, we engage in a dialogue with the authors, focusing on two of what seem crucial issues in understanding the potential contributions as well as the risks of postcolonial concepts in science education; these issues are space and identity. We choose these issues because they permeate all four essays in interesting and often provocative ways.