ERIC Number: EJ1364521
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Mar
Pages: 32
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8326
EISSN: EISSN-1098-237X
Science Faculty Conceptions of Equity and Their Association to Teaching Practices
Science Education, v107 n2 p427-458 Mar 2023
Equity in education has been conceptualized in various ways, which provides different affordances and constraints for policy, research, and teaching decisions. Regarding the latter, there is a dearth of research on how postsecondary science faculty conceptualize equity and whether and how their understandings of equity may be informing their teaching and related practices. This study examined equity conceptions and reported teaching practices among 45 faculty members in a College of Sciences at a research intensive, historically White, public university in the United States. Thematic analysis showed that faculty conceptualized equity in three ways--"equality," "inclusion," or "justice"--and these conceptions were associated with instructor-centered or student-centered practices. Professors with "equality" conceptions of equity tended to report teaching mostly via lecture, while those with "inclusion" conceptions reported using active learning and/or inclusive teaching practices. Most professors with a "justice" conception went beyond active learning and inclusive practices to also include an emerging critical pedagogy. Conceptions of equity appear to inform how university science faculty see their roles in advancing equity in their classrooms. These findings provide a foundation for future research that seeks to support college science faculty's understandings of equity issues in higher education and the pedagogical practices necessary to ameliorate them.
Descriptors: College Faculty, Science Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Equal Education, Educational Practices, Teaching Methods, Predominantly White Institutions, Research Universities, Inclusion, Justice, Student Centered Learning, Active Learning, Science Education
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: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A