ERIC Number: EJ1287288
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Mar
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8326
EISSN: N/A
Industry, Science Education, and Teacher Agency: A Discourse Analysis of Teachers' Evaluations of Industry-Produced Teaching Resources
Science Education, v105 n2 p353-383 Mar 2021
This study examines teachers' evaluations of teaching resources produced by industry to support science and technology teaching. The aim is to contribute to an understanding of how teachers negotiate the usability of industrial school initiatives for compulsory school science and technology. These evaluations are conceptualized in terms of teacher agency and educational governance. The collected data consist of focus group interviews where Swedish lower secondary school teachers discuss the usability of industry-produced teaching resources. A discourse analysis was conducted and five discourses discerned regarding teachers' practical evaluations of industry-produced teaching resources: (1) "the curriculum discourse," (2) "the educational design discourse," (3) "the practical discourse," (4) "the correct science content discourse," and (5) "the partiality and bias discourse." The teachers draw on the different discourses to different degrees, and the teacher agency achieved in specific situations will vary. Based on the results a tool aimed at strengthening teacher agency in the practical evaluations of teaching resources from the industry is proposed. The study also contributes to a critical discussion on the influence of industry on the local education policy arena and suggests directions for strengthening teacher agency in situations where teachers evaluate and make decisions about the use of industry-produced teaching resources.
Descriptors: Science Education, Instructional Material Evaluation, Professional Autonomy, Foreign Countries, Secondary School Science, Educational Policy
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A