"Transformative Science Teaching" reveals Daniel Morales-Doyle's vision for science education that supports meaningful learning in the sciences. In this sensible and sensitive assessment of science instruction in the United States, Morales-Doyle outlines both what science education is and what it could be. He suggests that a judicious…

Integrating science education with social justice is vital for preparing students to critically address significant societal issues like climate change and pandemics. This study examines the effectiveness of socioscientific system modeling as a tool within Justice-Centered Science Pedagogy (JCSP) to enhance middle school students' understanding of…

This research is about bringing social justice art education into classrooms through the medium of video games and exploring the ways in which video game design can be a learning tool that can make contributions to and engage in social justice work. Drawing from a case-study research project with a small group of middle school students, through…

This study is situated at the confluence of three calls for research within mathematics education: 1) work using novel approaches for studying students' understanding of nonlinear meanings of multiplication; 2) work using discrete mathematics to explore social issues related to equity; and 3) work at the intersection of mathematical learning and…

To promote a justice-oriented approach to science education, we formed a research-practice partnership between middle school science teachers, their students, curriculum designers, learning scientists, and experts in social justice to co-design and test an environmental justice unit for middle school instruction. We examine teacher perspectives on…

As the number of displaced people increases, providing refugee-background students with critically engaging classrooms is essential. Supporting diverse learners, while focusing on issues of social justice and equity, critical literacy facilitates a perspective where texts are analyzed for underlying messages of power and sociopolitical issues.…

Recognising young women's authorship as a powerful force for civic change, we developed a creative framework for applied theatre that cultivates a space for young women to co-author "little words, BIG ISSUES": a diversity and inclusion workshop facilitated in cooperation with U.S middle school students. Activating girl-led activism…

In this study, I investigate the use of applied theatre with French Immersion Grade 8 students to better understand social justice issues. Through unstructured interviews, four participants were asked to recall their past experiences participating in applied theatre projects as a learning experience and as a process to better understand social…

This article documents the design and implementation of a culturally responsive critical media literacies curriculum centered around media representations of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Students (grades 6-8) were invited to discuss media imagery relating to DAPL and to create memes reflecting their understandings. To situate this work, we…

In this article, I share ways in which I have used the artworks of contemporary artists to encourage middle school students to reflect on the concepts of identity, diversity, and social justice. Specifically, I focus on the "Comfort Hair" series by Yuni Kim Lang, a Michigan-based Korean American artist, and a piece from the "Giant…

Do we need global education in the middle? This essay explores the answer to this question using various lenses. A brief overview of the history of global education within the middle school movement is presented as are the relevant goals from "This We Believe" (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010) and definitions of related…

Educators often bemoan the so-called learning gap that followed the upheaval to schooling in 2020, but the real learning gap will occur if the watershed events and social shifts of the early 2020s are not integrated into school instruction and learning. For today's learning to be relevant to today's students, it must reflect their lives and the…

Building durable peace through education requires addressing the gender ideologies and hierarchies that encourage both direct physical aggression and indirect harm through marginalization and exploitation. Although formal education systems are shaped by gendered patterns of social conflict, enmity, and inequity, schools can help young people to…

Opportunities to learn in consequential ways are shaped by the historicized injustices students encounter in relation to participation in STEM and schooling. In this article, it is argued that the construct of rightful presence, and the coconstructed "making present" practices that give rise to moments of rightful presence, is 1 way to…

This study examines the experiences of 15 Latinx sixth-grade students in Los Angeles who participated in a yearlong journalism-based media literacy program embedded in their social studies classes. Students researched, interviewed, wrote, and published articles on the Internet about social justice themes, like immigration, racism, and LGBTQ…