Multicultural Science Education: Theory, Practice, and Promise

Overview & Synopsis

As a relatively new area of investigation, the study of multicultural education as it relates to science teaching and learning has spawned numerous interpretations by researchers and authors worldwide. The contributors of this international volume--among them are science teacher educators, science teachers, scientists, researchers, program directors, multicultural educators, and cultural anthropologists--were selected based on both their divergent and convergent perspectives on multicultural science education. By including contributors from a number of constituencies, this book offers a broad perspective on multicultural science education in addition to providing a vision for the future. Extensive literature reviews have also been included to assist the reader and focus discussion. Contents include: (1) Multicultural Science Education: Moving beyond Tradition (Norvella P. Carter; Patricia J. Larke; Gail Singleton-Taylor; and Erich Santos; (2) "Science for All" and Invisible Ethnicities: How the Discourse of Power and Good Intentions Undermine the National Science Education Standards (Alberto J. Rodriguez); (3) Teaching Science from a Critical Multicultural Perspective (Roberta Ahlquist and Julie Kailin); (4) Prospective Teachers' Education World View and Teacher Education Programs: Through the Eyes of Culture, Ethnicity, and Class (Mary M. Atwater and Denise Crockett); (5) Enhancing the Science Interest of African American Students Using Cultural Inclusion (Shirley Gholston Key); (6) Native American Science Education and Its Implications for Multicultural Science Education (Paul McD. Rowland and Carol R. Adkins); (7) Multicultural Science Education Program Demonstrates Equity and Excellence (Charles E. Simmons); (8) Good Versus Bad Culturally Relevant Science: Avoiding the Pitfalls (Cathleen C. Loving and Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano); (9) Rethinking Multicultural Science Education: Representations, Identities, and Texts (Peter Ninnes); and (10) Defining a Theoretical Framework for Multicultural Science (Samina Hadi-Tabassum).