Students’ Uses of Actor Network Theory to Contextualize Socioscientific Actions

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Gender, Class, Activism, Parental Involvement, and Academic Achievement in International Contexts

Abstract

Many jurisdictions have urged educators to engage students in decision-making regarding socioscientific issues like debates about climate change. Scholars suggest that students also need to take social actions — such as lobbying of power-brokers — to address issues. This latter tack, however, often meets various structural and cultural barriers. Nevertheless, some evidence suggests that student motivation to act can be enhanced when they self-direct research to inform their actions. In the study reported here, we concluded — based on constant comparative analyses of qualitative data — that students’ engagement in research-informed actions to address socioscientific issues can be enhanced through their use of actor network theory and practices. Implications for promotion of socio-political activism in and through school science are discussed.

Authors

• John Lawrence Bencze, OISE/University of Toronto

• Mirjan Krstovic, Peel District School Board