ERIC Number: EJ1463281
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 41
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4308
EISSN: EISSN-1098-2736
Available Date: 2024-09-24
Epistemic Injustice and the "Nature of Science"
David Stroupe1; Enrique Suárez2; Déana Scipio3
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v62 n4 p901-941 2025
Scientists and science educators have argued that learners (students, preservice teachers, and inservice teachers) should understand knowledge construction in science, in addition to figuring out disciplinary core ideas. Given this goal, some science education scholars created a construct called the "Nature of Science" (NOS), which aims to simplify the complex work of scientific knowledge production for learners. Since the 1980s, the NOS construct has shaped national and international science education reforms with the goal of creating a more scientifically literate populace. In this article, we name and question assumptions built into the NOS construct using the philosophical perspective of epistemic injustice. Using specific lenses of "contributory injustice" and "testimonial injustice," we analyzed the 97 most-cited peer-reviewed NOS journal articles to examine which scholars are selected to create the NOS construct. We also examined how researchers using NOS position learners in relation to the construct. We found that White men are primarily named by NOS scholars to inform the construct. We also found that NOS research often positions learners from a deficit perspective compared to the construct. We conclude by discussing the potential injustices perpetuated by the NOS construct, and offer a vision for a more complete story of science in sites of learning.
Descriptors: Epistemology, Justice, Scientific Principles, Science Education, Scientific Literacy, Scientific Concepts
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2UMass, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; 3Islandwood Environmental Education Center, IslandWood, Washington, USA