A Paradigm of Contradictions: Racism and Science Education

Brown, Bryan A.; Mutegi, Jomo W.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-044894-7.00124-x

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Writing the problems included in Table required me to engage in substantial content learning about the chemistry of heavy metal compounds. Taking a justice‐centered approach requires teachers to relearn and “re‐cognize” (Freire, , p. 11) the science content in which we have studied to be experts. In this case, it required deepening my own understandings about the solubility and impacts of heavy metal contamination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Developing an analysis of white supremacy is important because science is often positioned as objective even as the "theoretical retrofitting of scientific racism" has worked to justify oppression from slavery and colonialism through current educational inequality (Brown & Mutegi, 2010). While it may be tempting to think of these issues as historical relics, a recent popular book provides evidence that scientific racism endures (Wade, 2014) and recent research suggests that mainstream science education continues to subtly perpetuate the misunderstandings of race that undergird it (Donovan, 2014).…”

Section: Antiracist and Equitable Science Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Justice‐centered science pedagogy: A catalyst for academic achievement and social transformation

2017

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Longstanding inequities in science education across the lines of race and class remain the most intractable problem in the field. Justice‐centered science pedagogy is introduced as a theoretical framework built on the traditions of critical pedagogy and culturally relevant pedagogy to address these inequities as components of larger oppressive systems. This study examines how a justice‐centered advanced chemistry class in an urban neighborhood high school supported students to succeed academically while taking up urgent issues of social and environmental justice identified by their communities. The findings include evidence that curriculum organized around an issue of environmental racism supported academic achievement that exceeded the expectations of a typical high school chemistry course. The findings also document how the curriculum provided opportunities for students to move beyond academic achievement to position themselves as transformative intellectuals. As transformative intellectuals, students demonstrated complex thinking about science and social justice issues, cultivated their commitment to their communities and cultures of origin, and developed credibility as local youth knowledgeable in science. These findings have implications for teachers, teacher educators, and educational researchers who wish to engage with science education as a catalyst for social transformation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Antiracist and Equitable Science Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Justice‐centered science pedagogy: A catalyst for academic achievement and social transformation

2017

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“…A. Brown & Mutegi, ; Green, ). Racial identity expression is only one dimension of identity; as previously mentioned, identity is multidimensional with intersecting dimensions.…”

Section: This Study’s Conceptual Framingmentioning

confidence: 99%

#BlackGirlMagic: The identity conceptualization of Black women in undergraduate STEM education

2018

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Much of the research in science education that explores the influence of a racial and gendered identity on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) engagement for Black women situate their identities primarily as responses to the oppression and struggles they face in STEM. In this study, we use Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory as a strengths‐based approach to investigate 10 undergraduate Black women’s perceptions of race and gender on their STEM identity development and engagement. The qualitative analysis of interview and journal data revealed these women enter STEM experiences cognizant of their race and gender identities, naming them in isolation and intersectionally as a potential risk or as being protective, positive, and empowering for their STEM engagement. These findings illuminate the importance of Black women self‐authoring their identities in STEM contexts, both in naming what is salient and defining what those names mean, and have implications for STEM retention and matriculation efforts.

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“…It has contributed to and benefitted from racism, sexism, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation (Harding, 2006). While the extent and precise nature of its role in these processes can be debated, that science played an important role is undeniable when considering its contributions to false beliefs of racial difference and inferiority (Brown & Mutegi, 2010), weapons that facilitate imperialism (Vossoughi & Vakil, 2018), and technologies that were the basis for unsustainable and exploitative development and consumption (Conner, 2005). Gunckel and Tolbert (2018) build on critiques of the NGSS by identifying commitments not only to neoliberalism but also to related technocratic and utilitarian ideologies in the engineering emphasis of the standards.…”

Section: The Science Dilemmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemicals are contaminants too: Teaching appreciation and critique of science in the era of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

2019

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This article examines the tensions that arose as teachers, scientists, youth, and community organizers worked to develop a curriculum that was responsive to community concerns and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Within the context of urban heavy metal contamination and building on previous critiques of the standards, we identified how the ideological commitments of the NGSS hinder their applicability to community issues. We examine latent ideological commitments in the performance expectations (PEs) and disciplinary core ideas as they relate to historical and present causes and consequences of urban heavy metal contamination. Whereas the scientific enterprise and chemical industry produce harms and benefits, the NGSS focus on benefits and ignore that both harms and benefits of science are unevenly distributed. Given the pressure on teachers to implement the NGSS, this paper presents examples from collaborative curriculum development efforts that meet PEs while pushing students to ask critical questions and engage with their communities to challenge the standards’ alignment with the chemical industry. Ultimately, we argue that the NGSS position teachers as promoters of the status quo of the scientific enterprise and we document possibilities for the role of science teachers in US schools that are more transformative.

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A Paradigm of Contradictions: Racism and Science Education

Cited by 17 publications

References 35 publications

Justice‐centered science pedagogy: A catalyst for academic achievement and social transformation

Justice‐centered science pedagogy: A catalyst for academic achievement and social transformation

#BlackGirlMagic: The identity conceptualization of Black women in undergraduate STEM education

Chemicals are contaminants too: Teaching appreciation and critique of science in the era of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

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