Lotta Leden

In-Between Chapter: The Culture of School Science Inquiry Put Under the Microscope

Imagine a scientist! The bold spectacled man (yes, of course it’s a man) – his forehead frowned and the white stained lab coat as a protecting shield – is shrouded in mystery and enigma. The lab coat scientist is the ultimate image of “ideal” science where knowledge is unproblematically accumulated through examining the natural world. A symbol that serves as an archetype for the construction of a school science culture where black is black, white is white and shades of grey refers to nothing but a poorly written book. School science culture, as it is commonly described, has its foundations in ready-made facts and “the scientific method.” It seeks to provide insights into a canon of essential scientific phenomena and enculture students through pre-professional science training. Such culture takes on Thomas Kuhn’s (2012) “normal science” through “normal science teaching.”