Borderlands of Science Education A Critical Curricular Praxis for Community Health and Healing

• In Event: Communities of Resistance and Dissent, Aztlán-Anáhuc-Ixtepec, Gran México--Part 1: Critical, Local, Transnational Teachers and Teacher Education

Abstract

Objectives
This study sought to develop critical praxes in science education rooted within our bioregion to address the rising tide of type 2 diabetes through a critical-pedagogical lens, guiding preservice teachers (PSTs) to foreground everyday cultural and scientific knowledge, reclaiming local, embodied knowledges. At the heart of the Cultural Biohealth Synergy (CBSS) curriculum, lies the recognition that science is not neutral; it can heal or harm. This work reclaims science as healing and empowering, not an extraction tool.

Perspectives or Theoretical Framework
Anchored in Anzaldúa’s (1987, 2015) notion of conocimiento, borderlands, and nepantla and Freire’s (1970, 2005) conscientizacion, this study positions science teaching as a local-transnational terrain for healing and epistemic justice. The CBSS curriculum addresses type 2 diabetes, resisting deficit narratives that oversimplify cultural and structural complexity. Culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris & Alim, 2014) guided the honoring of local, ancestral, and embodied knowledge in science education.

Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
Using case study methodology, the study examined how PSTs engaged with the CBSS curriculum. This enabled in-depth exploration of their evolving conceptions of science, pedagogical stance, and preparedness to implement community-responsive instruction.

Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Data included pre-/post-curriculum questionnaires, reflections, and lesson plans. Following case study methods, these materials were thematically coded to identify patterns related to critical and culturally sustaining pedagogies, PSTs’ evolving conceptions of science teaching, and sociocultural contexts of the bioregion (Mills & Gay, 2018). Informed by notions of conocimiento and borderlands, the analysis emphasized how participants crossed epistemic boundaries and reclaimed localized knowledge.

Results
Preservice teachers reflected on the paradox of science: while it has enabled profound medical advancements, it has also been complicit in the commodification and harm of communities, particularly through the food industry. Several PSTs noted how food science has produced highly processed, addictive products contributing to chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes, disproportionately impacting communities of color. These realizations surfaced a deeper understanding of science as multifaceted, depending on whose interests it serves. As Angel reflected, “Science goes hand in hand with how older generations that often lived really long could show why they were so healthy…. Most science comes from cultures that [have] given their ideas and practices to the outside. They are fully connected [science and culture].” He points to historical horticulture and ancestral health practices, systems now overrun by capitalist food systems. This tension became a site for pedagogical transformation. Mateo expressed this shift in his lesson plan: “Now that you know more about type 2 diabetes and the metabolic effects… what can you plan to proceed in your daily lives?”. PSTs embraced science as a liberatory tool, a form of knowledge in service of community well-being, not capitalist profit.

Scholarly Significance
This study exemplifies health sciences and education research in the interest of the community, reflecting Tuhiwai Smith’s (2021) call for research and pedagogy to serve as tools for healing and resistance, repositioning teacher preparation as a site for reclaiming science for liberation.

Author

• Miriam M. Ortiz, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley