Affordances and Challenges of Science Curriculum Development in School Communities

• In Event: Equitable Change in Science Education

Abstract

A way for students to become scientifically literate is to engage in socioscientific issues nested in their school communities. To accomplish this, science teachers require curriculum-based professional learning that is long-term and collaborative. Literature reveals insufficient attention to local school-community curriculum development. We present results from two school activity systems involved in curriculum development with their local school communities. Using activity theory, findings highlighted socio-environmental differences between middle and secondary schools, dynamic trajectories of activity systems using a design-based research, contradictions with shared learning objects, and curriculum actualization reflecting each school-community. Our approach identified affordances and challenges teachers and researchers experienced during curriculum development and school-communities. This study contributes to a literature gap involving school science and community curriculum development

Author

• Xavier Eric Fazio, Brock University