Forwarding a ‘science-ethics nexus’ to critique and reorient science education pedagogy toward greater social and ecological justice

In this paper, I engage with arguments put forth by Blue Mahy in his article “A speculative-posthumanist examination of the ‘science-ethics nexus’ in Australian secondary schools.” Mahy argues that by using relational posthumanist concepts as a diffractive lens, his critiques of Australian school science standards find the underlying hegemonies of masculine, Euro-Western ideologies that infuse the stance on ethics in science education. He uses a ‘plug in process’ of posthumanist concepts to generate a ‘speculative fiction’. This is a method used to reclaim ethics and science by creating narratives produced by the diffracted projections of posthumanist concepts. In my own research on science teacher education, I explore Mahy's use of diffraction for both critiquing science curriculum and providing projections for future ethical commitments in school science education. I utilize data from my science methods course which is situated in Central California’s agricultural region at a largely Hispanic-Serving Institution.

     

Preservice teachers’ perceptions of an ICT-rich learning environment: Development of an instrument

This article reports the development of an instrument to measure preservice teachers’ perceptions of the Study Landscape (SLS), which is an ICT-infused learning environment that encourages preservice teachers to direct their own learning to build a two-way relationship between theory and teaching practice. This study comprised a qualitative and quantitative part. Six factors derived from interviews with users formed the basis of the instrument: (1) Support of Learners’ Initiatives; (2) Support of Information Searches; (3) Support of Interaction; (4) Relationship with Fellow Students; (5) Relationship with Teacher Educators; and (6) Relationship with SLS Staff. Once developed, the questionnaire was responded to by 186 students. Analysis of the data supported five out of six factors.