STEM Education <- -> Right-Wing Populist Politics

• In Event: Science Educations in/against Reactionary Times

Abstract

All education enacts, implicitly or explicitly, some political agenda. This appears to be particularly evident in many ‘STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education initiatives. Emerging alongside — and, perhaps, influenced by — neoliberalism, many such initiatives appear to prioritize training of technical experts to develop and market for-profit commodities while de-emphasizing critical analyses of these fields that might lead to socio-political actions to address perceived harms linked to STEM fields, such as worldwide devastation from petroleum-fueled climate change. Production-oriented, apolitical, emphases in STEM education also, apparently, articulates with recent emergence of right-wing populism (RWP). Although definitions vary, many RWP movements tend to pit ‘good’ masses of people against ‘bad’ elites controlling governments. RWP leaders are, then, often seen as saviors for the people. Like magicians, however, such charismatic leaders appear to — in many respects — create illusionary images for a better world that can distract citizens from consciousness of further capitalist exploitation. Promotion of production-oriented, depoliticized, STEM education can, then, become increasingly normalized — perhaps contributing to predicted exponential wealth concentration by few capitalists and corresponding personal, social and environmental degradation. After elaborating and justifying claims above, we then present theoretical schema — with practical examples — enabling teacher educators and teachers of science and technology to help learners develop critical conceptions of STEM fields and to develop expertise, confidence and motivation for creating and implementing socio-political actions to overcome harms of concern to them. We end with recommendations for mobilizing such approaches, emphasizing needs for actions in multiple fronts.

Authors

• John Bencze, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

• Lyn Carter, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia