Abstract:
There are global concerns regarding students’ declining engagement in STEM subjects as they transition from primary to secondary school. This comes at a time when increasingly complex global socio-scientific issues and future labour markets demand scientifically literate citizens. According to the Australian Office of the Chief Scientist, transforming STEM education begins in primary schools, through a capable STEM teaching workforce.
In this paper, we draw on two concurrent developments in education to highlight the considerations for the content, design, and delivery of science education units for future primary science teachers. The first involves the growing interest in the place-based knowledges and wisdoms inherent in First Nations cultures across the globe (e.g., Cajete, 2000). These knowledges not only provide insights on the natural world, but are also complementary with contemporary ways of teaching and learning science.
The second involves a (re)vision of the factory model of the education system, towards a new paradigm where students contribute to the well-being of their communities and the planet. Instead of simply acquiring knowledge, young people learn the relevance of science through inter- and transdisciplinary explorations of what it means to live in ways that enable life-sustaining systems to flourish now and for future generations.
With this backdrop, we highlight considerations for the design and delivery of science education units for future primary science teachers. Our aim is to further develop teachers’ cultural awareness and capabilities for respectful and ongoing collaborations with First Nations knowledge systems and communities. Engaging future teachers through ‘multisciences’ perspectives offer unique knowledges and innovations that will that extend our current conceptualisation of school science education to better address the complex socio-scientific issues of our time.
In this paper, we draw on two concurrent developments in education to highlight the considerations for the content, design, and delivery of science education units for future primary science teachers. The first involves the growing interest in the place-based knowledges and wisdoms inherent in First Nations cultures across the globe (e.g., Cajete, 2000). These knowledges not only provide insights on the natural world, but are also complementary with contemporary ways of teaching and learning science.
The second involves a (re)vision of the factory model of the education system, towards a new paradigm where students contribute to the well-being of their communities and the planet. Instead of simply acquiring knowledge, young people learn the relevance of science through inter- and transdisciplinary explorations of what it means to live in ways that enable life-sustaining systems to flourish now and for future generations.
With this backdrop, we highlight considerations for the design and delivery of science education units for future primary science teachers. Our aim is to further develop teachers’ cultural awareness and capabilities for respectful and ongoing collaborations with First Nations knowledge systems and communities. Engaging future teachers through ‘multisciences’ perspectives offer unique knowledges and innovations that will that extend our current conceptualisation of school science education to better address the complex socio-scientific issues of our time.