Networks of practice in science education research: A global context

Abstract

In this paper, we employ cultural sociology and Braj Kachru's model of World Englishes as theoretical and analytical tools for considering English as a form of capital necessary for widely disseminating research findings from local networks of practice to the greater science education research community. We present a brief analysis of recent authorship in top-tier science journals to demonstrate the salience of English language dominance as an issue in our field and we share narrative reflections from 11 international science education researchers offering perspectives from the field about the challenges faced by researchers in local and global contexts. Using an interpretive research stance, we discuss these narrative reflections to illuminate the role of personal and collective responsibility of individuals, organizations and institutions within local social networks of practice to recognize the relationship between capital, power, and equitable participation within a global science education research community. We conclude by discussing some existing structures within local networks of practice that relegate some members of the community to peripheral participatory roles in the global community and we suggest new structures to support individuals to more equitably contribute to the production of knowledge in the field of science education in ways that benefit not only individuals, but also the global science education community. ß

Asia-Pacific Science Education (APSE): expanding opportunities for publishing science education research

“…In these cases, the research was usually being reported as an international cross-comparative study rather than focusing solely on issues relevant to or descriptive about science education issues a particular local context. As has been discussed in a previous study examining publication trends in science education (Martin and Siry 2011), the patterns in publication are in part shaped by the sociohistorical development of these journals-with both JRST and SE being based in the United States and RISE and IJSE being based in Australia and the United Kingdom, respectively. These journals have long-established histories in their local contexts and three are associated with professional organizations whose members have traditionally published in these journals.…”

“…Following methods similar to recently published studies examining the impact of English language use on publishing in science education journals (see Martin and Siry 2011) and other trends in publishing (Tsai 2005;Lee et al 2009;Rollnick et al 2009), we conducted an analysis of publications within the most recent five years (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014) from four science education journals: the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST), Science Education (SE), Research in Science Education (RISE), and the International Journal of Science Education (IJSE). We selected only those journals that are included in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and excluded journals that were not solely focused on science education (meaning we did not include journals that feature research in math or technology education or the learning sciences).…”

Opportunities and Challenges for Science Education in Asia: Perspectives Based on the Taiwan Experience

“…Meanwhile, more active participation by science educators/researchers from Asian countries in the international science education community would be of mutual benefit. In terms of the publication of research results in reputable international journals in science education, it is noted that Asian science educators contribute disproportionately (Bencze et al 2012;Lee 2008;Martin and Siry 2011). Since Asia represents a large population with considerable cultural diversity, Lee (2010) and Martin and Siry (2011) advocate for more active contributions in terms of published work by Asian science educators in well-known international science education journals.…”

“…In terms of the publication of research results in reputable international journals in science education, it is noted that Asian science educators contribute disproportionately (Bencze et al 2012;Lee 2008;Martin and Siry 2011). Since Asia represents a large population with considerable cultural diversity, Lee (2010) and Martin and Siry (2011) advocate for more active contributions in terms of published work by Asian science educators in well-known international science education journals. They argue that including research participants who represent Asia's wide variation in demographic and cultural characteristics would improve our theoretical understanding of science teaching and learning.…”

“…Of course, there are obstacles for non-English speakers to participate in international conferences and to publish their research results in international journals. Some practical means as well as wider structural changes to help reduce these obstacles were suggested by Lee (2008) and Martin and Siry (2011). In fact, the DES at the NSC in Taiwan has initiated a number of measures to encourage and help domestic researchers to more actively participate in the international science education community (Guo and Chiu 2016;Yore et al 2016), such as offering financial support to attend international conferences, holding workshops on how to prepare and publish papers in international journals, and assigning higher credit in the award system to papers published in SSCI journals.…”