In this article, we argue that mainstream science education is contaminated by neoliberal values and functions in the service of political domination and exploitation and that a neoliberal and exploitative science education does not contribute to the building of a sustainable and just world. The work from Paulo Freire and Enrique Dussel underpin…

Marginalized communities cannot and do not have decontextualized experiences with how socioscientific issues, such as exposure to COVID-19 as frontline essential workers, high Black infant mortality rates, air pollution leading to respiratory problems, and other issues, affect their communities. As PreK-12 science teachers and teacher educators…

For some time, scholars who are guided by critical theories and perspectives have called out how white supremacist ideologies and systemic racism work to (re)produce societal inequities and educational injustices across science learning contexts in the United States. Given the sociopolitical nature of society, schooling, and science education, it…

Concepts in science education such as "science identity" and "science capital" are informed by dominant epistemological and ontological positions, which translate into assumptions about what counts as science and whose science counts. In this theoretical paper we draw on decolonial and antiracist perspectives to examine these…

Teacher education programs must prepare their preservice science teachers to center social justice and to meet the academic needs of culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse students, as justice-centered discourses are traditionally absent from science classrooms yet integral to the teaching and learning of rich and relevant phenomena. In…

There was a time when science was viewed as inherently objective, without bias. We now know that isn't true--scientists bring their life experiences and beliefs with them to work. The designing, funding, and reporting of research are all framed by societal influences and implemented by those who have been privileged to serve in these roles.…

Using critical race structuralism (CRS), a new contribution, as well as primary and secondary data, this article explores the role of science in teaching social justice issues in urban education. In the United States, a teaching workforce, which is predominately White, middle class, and female, intersects with an increasingly diverse student…

Recent events reveal the impact of systemic inequities on marginalized communities and highlight the importance of critical frameworks in science teacher education. Education theorists and research suggest that lack of sociopolitical, or critical, consciousness among teachers limits their ability to engage students in culturally relevant teaching…

To promote a justice-oriented approach to science education, we formed a research-practice partnership between middle school science teachers, their students, curriculum designers, learning scientists, and experts in social justice to co-design and test an environmental justice unit for middle school instruction. We examine teacher perspectives on…

Science is often portrayed as a meritocratic endeavor, but university biology programs exhibit high rates of student attrition, particularly among students of Color, despite similar interest and aptitude for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as White students. Culturally relevant pedagogy is associated with student…

Gateway college science courses continue to exclude students from science, disproportionately discriminating against students of color. As the higher education system strives to reduce discrimination, we need a deliberate, iterative process to modify, supplement, or replace current modalities. By incorporating antiracist, just, equitable, diverse,…

The intersection in 2020 of the new COVID-19 pandemic with the ongoing pandemic of anti-black racism exacerbated existing injustices as well as caused and revealed new inequities in US higher education. Because inequities in assessment in particular were intensified by these twin pandemics, faculty at several US colleges revised assessment…

Socioscientific issues (SSI) such as COVID-19 and climate change often highlight the inequalities that structural racism creates. If we ever wish to equitably solve these issues, we require a population that has the scientific literacy and the sociopolitical consciousness to do so. Yet, the push for culturally relevant education has had little…

Background: We examine the development of youth sociopolitical consciousness and agency in an eighth-grade science classroom as students of color engage in critical speculative design activities, exploring the multi-scalar, racial realities and possibilities of the science and engineering of pervasive digital technologies--specifically involving…