Here are my thoughts on an article I found about Justice Centered PK-12 Curriculua. This article is from: http://stemteachingtools.org/brief/67
As a teacher committed to Justice centered teaching I am just starting to see articles like this one pop on sites! DEB MORRISON, PHILIP BELL & ABBY RHINEHART, do a great job of defining some key terms. Here are some key points from the article.
- Justice-centered science pedagogy addresses inequities as components of larger oppressive systems. Meaningful science education should teach young people not only to use the tools of science, but also to critically reflect on how they and others use these tools. This can help them see how scientifically informed decision-making is not straightforward—but occurs in complicated sociopolitical contexts.
- This is an amazing interview with Dr. Morales-Doyle. I have met him, talked with him about his work and my work. He is an amazing scholar and educator. I am a fan and it is worth your time!
- How are you challenging your curriculum development?
- Does your curriculum highlight how science has helped create many social inequities over time and how various scientific knowledges and practices can promote justice? How can it
- Why might you shy away from using justice-centered science phenomena in your instruction?
- Whose interests are being served by not relating science instruction to specific forms of justice?
- Start with the issues that matter to your community and students!
- What science-related justice projects are meaningful to the communities you serve?
- What justice projects interest your students—especially those who may feel disenfranchised from science? How can you find out?
- It is important to know how to develop and apply a variety of knowledges and practices of science and engineering (along with other knowledge) in ways that support broad social justice movements.
- Decisions made using scientific knowledge are tied to values and ideologies (e.g., capitalism, collectivism), some of which are more powerful and present in our social decision-making. How do students learn about this context and then work towards justice?
- What organizations in your community relate to the justice projects you want to focus on? How might their expertise or resources support your efforts?
Why should we care about this?
- Student critical reflection and analysis should be accompanied by opportunities to take action and work toward more just, sustainable, and culturally thriving communities.
- This can help young people see science not as a “way out” of under-resourced communities, but as a way to work toward justice locally. This does not mean that investigations should promote oversimplified, technocratic ideas, such as that societies can simply “science” their way out of complicated interdisciplinary problems—but to see science as a knowledge base that can be used with others to promote justice.
- Community and citizen science and engineering projects can meaningfully support local science learning and the social goals of communities—and can take multiple interests, perspectives, and knowledges into account in investigations promoting social progress.
- Science education can also be a context for promoting justice for specific communities through place-based learning. One important context for this work is to design science learning environments in which Indigenous students and communities thrive—as part of promoting Indigenous cultural resurgence and multi-species justice.
What Do I think?
I love this framework for grounding science pedagogy and curriculum development. This empowers students to question the world around them and use science to ACT in justice driven ways. As always my questions is: Who did we forget? I am thinking of my white students now. How do we help them challenge their own perspectives of the world through science?
Selene Y. Willis, PhD 