Kathryn Scantlebury

Still Part of the Conversation: Gender Issues in Science Education

Gender differences in science achievement and participation have decreased in the past three decades. Despite calls from science educators for a more refined analysis of gender differences that include other social categories such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion and sexuality, there is little information on how these factors, along with a student’s gender, impact her/his learning, attitudes toward science, achievement, and/or participation in science. Further, although previous research has documented how teachers’ practices and instruction can mediate students’ learning, we have yet to examine in detail how teachers’ expectations for students and pedagogical practices are nuanced by gender. Black feminists have challenged researchers to utilize intersectionality to explore how power, identity, and ideology across time and space impact gendered experiences and circumstances. In this chapter, I present a review of recent studies in gender and science education and propose future directions for gender research in science education.

Using Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development to propose and test an explanatory model for conceptualising coteaching in pre-service science teacher education

Coteaching offers a model for the school-placement element of pre-service science teacher education, based on its demonstrated positive impacts on lessening classroom anxiety, supporting inquiry-based science teaching, improving students’ attitudes, and addressing diversity effectively in science classrooms. Coteaching between pre-service and in-service teachers is used to lessen the gap between theory and practice, to develop reflective practice and to develop pedagogical content knowledge. Explanatory frameworks have been proposed for coteaching, and we suggest that Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development helps to propose a more nuanced developmental and learning explanatory framework which provides pedagogical structures for implementation and highlights the importance of the social environment for learning. In providing structure and tools for effective implementation of coteaching, our model addresses three core elements of coteaching: coplanning, copractice, and coevaluation. The model was piloted in relation to pre-service teachers’ development in reflective practice and reducing the gap between theory and classroom practice.

Frameworks for Examining the Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender on English Language Learners in K-12 Science Education in the USA

In this chapter, we argue that intersectionality and cultural sociology can be used as complementary theoretical frameworks to gain multifaceted understandings about the learning needs of language minority (LM) and English language learner (ELL) students in science classrooms. By employing these frameworks, researchers can better understand the complex relationship between globalization and e|im|migration at global levels and the resulting impacts on school environments at local levels. We draw connections between international migration patterns and the impact on individual teachers, students, and communities in local contexts to illustrate some of the challenges facing teachers and students in linguistically and ethnically diverse science classrooms in two urban K-8 schools. We conclude this chapter by raising some questions related to policy, teacher practice, and science teacher education, which we feel are critical for promoting the academic success of LM/ELL students in K-12 science classrooms in the USA.

Ignoring Half the Sky: A Feminist Critique of Science Education’s Knowledge Society

A Chinese proverb observes that women ‘hold up half the sky’, yet often in science education we have ignored the knowledge generated by feminist researchers about how females engage and participate in science. Further, science education has often failed to consider the implications from feminist critiques of science on science education. This chapter will provide a feminist perspective on who generates knowledge in science education and what knowledge is acceptable as ‘scientific’ by the field. Second, we will discuss the culture of science education and discuss whether science educators value the knowledge produced by gender and feminist researchers. In particular, we will examine the integration (or lack thereof) of gender issues into the dominant areas in science education research, such as teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, the development of students’ science knowledge through inquiry, the role of conceptual change, and teachers’ preparation and professional development programmes. Third, we will provide examples of how gender theory and feminist perspectives in science education could generate new knowledge about gender and science education.

A Snake in the Nest or in a Snake's Nest: What Counts as Peer Review for a Female Science Educator in a Chemistry Department?.

Prior to my appointment as a feminist science educator in a chemistry and biochemistry department, I engaged in a discussion with my future colleagues and peers on the criteria for evaluating my tenure and promotion application. This paper discusses that process and the cultural and social capital I garnered through external funding of research projects and the publications. These activities rely on peer review, however, the question is raised who is considered a peer for a feminist science educator? I also highlight an ongoing concern that there are currently few women chemists at the higher levels of peer review in the United States and the implications this has for junior female faculty.

Supporting Language Learners in Science Classrooms: Insights from Middle-School English Language Learner Students.

ABSTRACT Increases in the number of English language learner (ELL) students in the United States has led to a significant need for research that explores teaching and learning for ELL students in science and other content-area classrooms. This qualitative study investigated middle-school ELL students’ (N = 12) beliefs and practices surrounding science learning. We explore the instructional opportunities that are lost when teachers do not take student voice into consideration when designing and implementing curricula. We contextualize these findings by relating them to a commonly used instructional model for integrating language and content instruction. We conclude with implications for teacher education and in-service teacher professional development.

How Does She Know? Re-visioning Conceptual Change from Feminist Research Perspectives

A feminist re-visioning of psychological and social perspectives on conceptions and conceptual change raises interesting issues and challenges. A psychological perspective to conceptual change proposes that learners develop a knowledge of the world through their experiences, yet feminist research in science education has shown how gendered those experiences can be. We take gender to be a social construction and other social categories such as race, ethnicity, class, religion and language also influence that construction. Building from the feminist slogan “the personal is political” we articulate in this chapter the research on gender issues in conceptual change and use feminist psychological and sociological theories to propose future directions for conceptual change research in science education.

Maria Edgeworth: Nineteenth century Irish female pioneer of science education.

Maria Edgeworth was a nineteenth century novelist, primarily remembered for her adult and childrens novels. Yet her book, Letters for literary ladies discussed the importance of science education for girls and in conjunction with her father, Richard Edgeworth, she wrote several treatises on education. Their book Practical education advocates an inquiry approach to teaching science and also using scientific practices, such as observation and data collection, to examine and plan childrens education. They emphasised the importance and the role of experimentation, observation and critical thinking in the development of childrens knowledge, skills and attitudes towards learning. However, the history of science education has to date ignored this seminal work and Marias contributions to womens science education.

Impact of Chemistry Teachers’ Knowledge and Practices on Student Achievement

Professional development programs promoting inquiry‐based teaching are challenged with providing teachers content knowledge and using pedagogical approaches that model standards based instruction. Inquiry practices are also important for undergraduate students. This paper focuses on the evaluation of an extensive professional development program for chemistry teachers that included chemistry content tests for students and the teachers and the impact of undergraduate research experiences on college students’ attitudes towards chemistry. Baseline results for the students showed that there were no gender differences on the achievement test but white students scored significantly higher than non‐white students. However, parent/adult involvement with chemistry homework and projects, was a significant negative predictor of 11th grade students’ test chemistry achievement score. This paper will focus on students’ achievement and attitude results for teachers who are mid‐way through the program providing evidence ...

Barriers, Resources, Frustrations, and Empathy: Teachers’ Expectations for Family Involvement for Latino/a ELL Students in Urban STEM Classrooms:

The importance of family involvement in education is well documented, yet no studies have explored teachers’ conceptualization of family involvement for urban English Language Learner (ELL) students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms. We used an ethnographic approach to investigate middle school STEM educators’ perspectives on family involvement for Spanish-speaking ELL students. The analysis revealed that the participants recognized barriers to involvement for families of ELL students, yet maintained that families should communicate more and help with homework. One participant’s practices and expectations served as a contradiction to these patterns. Implications and recommendations for P-12 school policy and teacher education are emphasized.