Science education as/for participation in the community

TLDR

Scientific literacy should be viewed as a collective property that supports democratic decision‑making, recognizing that not everyone needs the same core concepts and that science knowledge is one of many resources. The study proposes rethinking science education as participation in community life, aiming to foster lifelong engagement with science‑related issues. Using a three‑year multisite ethnographic study framed by activity theory, the authors examined middle‑school science learning as students collaborated on a community project to document a local creek. Students’ science activities aligned with adult environmental‑health work, enabling them to participate legitimately in community life and establishing a foundation for continuous learning beyond school. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.; DOI 10.1002/sce.10113.

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we take up and advance the project of rethinking “scientific literacy” by Eisenhart, Finkel, and Marion (American Educational Research Journal, 1996, 33, 261–295). As part of a project of rethinking science education, we advance three propositions. First, because society is built on division of labor, not everybody needs to know the same basic sets of concepts; it is more important to allow the emergence of scientific literacy as a collective property. Second, scientific knowledge ought not to be privileged in democratic collective decision making but ought to be one of many resources. Third, rethinking science education as and for participation in community life sets up the potential for lifelong participation in and learning of science‐related issues. To show the viability of these propositions, we provide a case study based on a 3‐year, multisite ethnographic research project as part of which we investigated science in the community. Framing our work in terms of activity theory, we provide descriptions of science in a local middle school, where students learn science while participating in a community effort to contribute to the knowledge base about a local creek. The children's activities are continuous with those of adults concerned about environmental health. In this way, rather than preparing for life after school, science education allows students to participate in legitimate ways in community life and therefore provides a starting point for uninterrupted lifelong learning across the presently existing boundary separating formal schooling from everyday life outside schools. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 88: 263–291, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/sce.10113