A Decolonial Moment in Science Education: Using a Socioscientific Issue to Explore the Coloniality of Power

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.28976/1984-2686rbpec20171731061

Keywords:

Socio-scientific Issues, Decolonialism, Ethical Fashion, Pre-service Teacher Education.

Abstract

Decolonialism as a politically engaged endeavour interrogating enduring colonial knowledge production is essential to any discussion of global injustices including those that sociocultural approaches to science education seek to challenge and ameliorate. This paper describes a decolonial moment in my own science teaching to undergraduate primary (elementary) preservice teachers around a socioscientific issue of Ethical Clothing/Fashion. The decolonial moment consists of a semiotically guided reading of some of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood’s promotional photographs for The Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), a development project in Kenya. Through this reading, differing social and power relations emerge than probably intended, aimed at unsettling the Eurocentric colonial discourses that many students carry with them into the classroom. The paper concludes with a review of both my own, and the pre-service teachers’ reflections on our learning.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aikenhead, G., & Elliott, D. (2010). An emerging decolonizing science education in Canada
Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 10(4), 321–338.
Baker, M. (2012). Decolonial education: meanings, contexts, and possibilities: Interpreting, researching, & transforming colonial/imperial legacies in education. Paper presented at American Educational Studies Association, Annual Conference Seattle, Washington.
Bang, M., & Medin, D. (2010). Cultural processes in science education: Supporting the navigation of multiple epistemologies. Science Education, 94(6), 1008–1026.
Barthes, R. (1978). Mythologies, trans. Annette Lavars. New York: Hill and Wang.
Barton, A. C. (2002). Urban science education studies: A commitment to equity, social justice and a sense of place. Studies in Science Education, 38(1), 1–38.
Baxendale, C. (2012). Vivienne Westwood and Postmodern Couture: A Corrupter of Modernism and ‘Good Taste’? Burgmann Journal, I, 37–40.
Beeman-Cadwallader, N., Quigley, C., & Yazzie-Mintz, T. (2012). Enacting decolonized methodologies: The doing of research in educational communities. Qualitative Inquiry, 18(1), 3–15.
Belczewski, A. (2009). Decolonizing science education and the science teacher: A white teacher’s perspective. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 9(3), 191–202.
Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.
Biesta, G. (2009). Good education in an age of measurement: on the need to reconnect with the question of purpose in education. Education Assessment Evaluation and Accountability, 21, 33–46.
Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgment, and educational professionalism. European Journal of Education: Research, Development and Policies, 50(1), 75–87.
Boisselle, L. (2016). Decolonizing science and science education in a postcolonial space. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2158244016635257
Boler, M. (1999). Feeling power: Emotions and education. New York: Routledge.

Burke, L., & Bazzul, J. (2017). Locating a space of criticality as new scholars in science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 12(3), 565–579.
Carter, L. (2003). Using postcolonialism to (re)read science education. Qualitative Research Journal, 3(2), 33–45.
Carter, L. (2004). Thinking differently about cultural diversity: using postcolonial theory to (re)read science education. Science Education, 88(6), 819–836.
Carter, L. (2006). The challenges of postcolonialism to science education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 38(5), 677–692.
Carter, L. (2010). The armchair at the borders: The ‘messy’ ideas of borders, border zones and epistemological diversity in multicultural science education. Science Education, 94(3), 428–447.
Carter L. (2011). The challenges of indigenous knowledge and science education. In G. Dei (Ed.), Indigenous Philosophies and Critical Education (pp. 312–329). New York: Peter Lang.
Chasomeris, A. (2006). Queer strokes, sexual subjects: gay male artists’ representations of male bodies in selected contemporary South African artworks. Retrieved from https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10413/4304/Chasomeris_Andreas_Georgiou_2006.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Choi, K. H. (2005). Vivienne Westwood in context and the Englishness of her work. International Journal of Costume Culture, 8(2), 61–70.
Cieplak, P. (2009). Filming in hot sun: Kenya, Kibera and the power of the image. Retrieved from https://www.closeupfilmcentre.com/vertigo_magazine/volume-4-issue-2-winter-spring-20091/filming-in-hot-sun-kenya-kibera-and-the-power-of-the-image/
Clarke, J. S., & Holt, R. (2016). Considered consumption: Vivienne Westwood and the ethics of consuming fashion. Journal of Management Inquiry, 25(2), 199–213.
Clarkson, M. (2017). Marketing - Millennials want to know the back story. Personal communication, 2nd May.
Climate Revolution, (n.d). Climate revolution. Retrieved from http://climaterevolution.co.uk/wp/
Daigle, M., & Sundberg, J. (2017). From where we stand: Unsettling geographical knowledges in the classroom. Transactions, 42(3), 338–341. doi:10.1111/tran.12201
Dave Sim Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/davesim200360.html
Daza, S., & Tuck, E. (2014). De/colonizing, (post)(anti)colonial, and indigenous education, studies, and theories. Educational Studies, 50(4), 307–313, doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2014.929918
De Lissovoy, N. (2010). Decolonial pedagogy and the ethics of the global. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 31(3), 279–293.
DesRoches, S. (2016) Thinking interculturally: decolonizing history and citizenship education in Québec. Intercultural Education, 27(3), 245–256, doi: 10.1080/14675986.2016.1150649
Dunner, M. (31th January 2017). Fraying at the seams: the cost of fast fashion. Retrieved from http://sumo.ly/H3su
Dussel, E. (1995). The invention of the Americas: Eclipse of “the Other” and the myth of Modernity. New York: Continuum Intl Pub Group.
Ekdale, B. (2013). Telling Whose Stories?: Re-examining Author Agency in Self-Representational Media in the Slums of Nairobi. In J. Gray & D. Johnson West, (Eds.), A companion to media authorship, Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, pp.158–180. doi: 10.1002/9781118505526.ch8
Ekdale, B. (2014). Slum discourse, media representations and maisha mtaani in Kibera, Kenya. Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 35(1), 92–108.
Eluxe Magazine, (n.d). Why Vivienne Westwood is not eco friendly. Retrieved from https://eluxemagazine.com/magazine/vivienne-westwood-is-not-eco-friendly/
Escobar, A. (2002). Worlds and knowledges otherwise: The Latin American modernity/coloniality research program. Presented at the Tercer Congreso Internacional de Latinoamericanistas en Europa, Amsterdam.
Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF), (n.d.). Ethical fashion forum. Retrieved from https://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/ethical-fashion
Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), (n.d.). Not Charity, just work. Retrieved from http://ethicalfashioninitiative.org
Evagorou, M, Guven, D., & Mugaloglu, E. (2014). Preparing elementary and secondary pre-service teachers for everyday science. Science Education International, 25(1), 68–78.
Fanon, F. (1961). The wretched of the earth. New York: Grove Press.
Faulkner, J., & Crowhurst, M. (2014). So far multicultural that she is racist to Australians: Discomfort as a pedagogy for change. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 22(3), 389–403.
Ferrier, M. (2017). Feeling rotten: the meaning of Theresa May’s Vivienne Westwood suit. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jan/18/feeling-rotten-the-meaning-of-theresa-mays-vivienne-westwood-suit
Gilbert, A. (2013). Courageous pedagogy: Enacting critical science education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Inc.
González, A. (2015). Speech delivered by International Trade Centre Executive Director, Ottawa, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.intracen.org/news/REMARKS-BY-THE-ITC-EXECUTIVE-DIRECTOR---AT-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-FOREIGN-AFFAIRS-TRADE-AND-DEVELOPMENT/
Goodrum, A. (2001). Producing ‘Britishness’: Globalisation and the construction of national identity in British fashion. Retrieved from http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/3379/1/DX219511_Redacted.pdf
Gorski, P. (2008). Good intentions are not enough: A decolonizing intercultural education. Intercultural Education, 19(6), 515–525, doi:10.1080/14675980802568319
Grooms, J., Sampson, V., & Golden, B. (2014). Comparing the effectiveness of verification and inquiry laboratories in supporting undergraduate science students in constructing arguments around socioscientific issues. International Journal of Science Education, 36(9), 1412–1433.
Gross, Z. (2015). (De)Constructing whiteness, power, and ‘others’ with access: International development and transnational interracial intimacies in East Africa. Critical Race and Whiteness Studies, 11(1), 1–19.
Harding, S. (2016). Latin American decolonial social studies of scientific knowledge: Alliances and tensions. Science, Technology & Human Values, 41(6), 1063–1087.
Harris Tweed (n.d.). Harris Tweed. Retrieved from https://www.harristweed.org/wpcontent/uploads/hta_guidelines_en.pdf
Holt, B. (2017). Theresa May rewears her lucky Vivienne Westwood suit to deliver key Brexit speech. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/people/theresa-may-rewears-lucky-vivienne-westwood-suit-deliver-key/
Jazeel, T. (2017). Mainstreaming geography’s decolonial imperative. Transactions, 42(3), 334–337. doi:10.1111/tran.12200
Johnston, D., & Reisman, W. M. (2008). The historical foundations of world order. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Kimmerer R.W. (2012). Searching for synergy: Integrating traditional and scientific ecological knowledge in environmental science education. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 317–323.
LaBoskey, V. (2007). The methodology of self-study and its theoretical underpinnings. In J. Loughran, M. Hamilton, V. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.). International Handbook of Self-study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices (Part One) (pp. 817–869), Dordrecht: Springer.
Legg, S. (2017). Decolonialism. Transactions, 42(3), 345–348. doi:10.1111/tran.12203.
Levinson, R. (2006). Teachers’ perceptions of the role of evidence in teaching controversial socio-scientific issues. The Curriculum Journal, 17(3), 247–262.
Levinson, R. (2010). Science education and democratic participation: An uneasy congruence? Studies in Science Education, 46(1), 69–119.
Lewis, J., & Leach, J. (2006). Discussion of socio-scientific Issues: The role of science knowledge. International Journal of Science Education, 28(11), 1267–1287.
London, B. (2013). Let them wear rags: Vivienne Westwood says poor people should buy less clothes. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2422325/Dame-Vivienne-Westwood-Buy-clothes-Everybodys-buying-I-think-poor-people-careful.html - ixzz4xEovZzZm
Lorde, A. (1983). The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. In C. Moraga & G. Anzaldua (Eds.) This bridge called my back: Writings by radical women of color (pp. 25–28), Boston, MA: Persephone Press.
Lyons, J. (2015). Westwood’s anti fracking frock turns toxic. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/westwoods-anti-fracking-frock-turns-toxic-hms37j0v2z7
Muthu, S. (2014). Roadmap to sustainable textiles and clothing: Eco-friendly raw materials, technologies, and processing methods. Dordrecht: Springer.
Mellow, J. D. (2015). Decolonizing western science, research, and education: Valuing linguistic diversity. In J. Reyhner, J, Martin, L. Lockard & W.S. Gilbert. (Eds.). Honoring our elders: Culturally appropriate approaches for teaching indigenous students (pp. 45–60). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University.
Mignolo, W. (2007). DeLinking. The rhetoric of modernity, the logic of coloniality and the grammar of de-coloniality. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 449–514.

Mignolo, W. (2011a). The darker side of western modernity: Global futures, decolonial options. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Mignolo, W. (2011b). Modernity and decoloniality. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0017.xml
Mignolo, W., & Tlostanova, M. (2006). Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge. European Journal of Social Theory, 9(2), 205–221.

Njeri, E. (2011). Comment. Retrieved from http://climaterevolution.co.uk/wp/2011/06/16/our-1st-trip-to-africa-kenya/)
Noble, B. (2015). Tripped up by coloniality: Anthropologists as instruments or agents in indigenous – settler political relations? Anthropologica, 57(2), 427–443.
Noxolo, P. (2017). Decolonial theory in a time of the re-colonisation of UK research. Transactions, 42(3), 342–344. doi:10.1111/tran.12202
Pepper, F. (2017). Australia’s obsession with new clothes and ‘fast fashion’ textiles hurting the environment. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-12/australias-obsession-with-new-clothes-hurting-the-environment/8177624
Pinar, W. (2004). What is curriculum theory? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Pitpiorntapin, S., & Topcu, M. (2016) Teaching based on socioscientific issues in science classrooms: A review study. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 6(1), 119–136.
Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 168–178
Quijano, A., & Ennis, M. (2000). Coloniality of power, eurocentrism, and Latin America. Nepantla: Views from South, 1(3), 533–580.
Radcliffe, S. (2017). Decolonising Geographical knowledges. Transactions, 42(3), 329–333. doi:10.1111/tran.12195
Ratcliffe, M., & Grace, M. (2003). Science education for citizenship. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Reis, G., & Ng-A-Fook, N. (2010). TEK talk: so what? Language and the decolonization of narrative gatekeepers of science education curriculum. Cultural Studies of Science Education, (5)4, 1009–1026.
Remy, N., Speelman, E., & Swartz, S. (2016) Style that’s sustainable: A new fast- fashion formula. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula
Sadler, T., & Zeidler, D. (2004). The morality of socioscientific issues: Construal and resolution of genetic engineering dilemmas. Science Education, 88(1), 4 –27.
Safe, G. (2017). Meet Simone Cipriani, go-between in the ethical fashion revolution. Retrieved from http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/fashion/style/the-ethical-fashion-initiative-is-giving-poor-communities-jobs-and-hope-20170511-gw2yjo#ixzz4wamQ7Acz 
Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. London: Routledge.
Selinger, E., & Outterson, K. (2010). Ecotourism and environmental justice. Environmental Philosophy, 7(2), 93–114. doi: 10.5840/envirophil20107217
Sfard, A., & Prusak, A. (2005). Telling identities: In search of an analytic tool for investigating learning as a culturally shaped activity. Educational Researcher, 34(4), 14–22.
Shizha, E. (2011). Neoliberal globalisation, science education and African indigenous knowledges. In D. Kapoor (Ed.). Critical Perspectives on Neoliberal Globalization, Development and Education in Africa and Asia (pp. 15–31). Rotterdam, NL: Sense.
Shizha, E. (2012). Are we there yet? Theorizing a decolonizing science education for development in Africa. In Ali A. Abdi (Ed). Decolonizing Philosophies of Education (pp. 163–174). Dordrecht: Springer.
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonising methodologies: research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). New York, USA: Zed Books.
Spivak, G. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Spivak, G. (2010). Changing reflexes: Interview with Gayatri Chaakravorty Spivak. Works and Days, 28(55–56), 326–345.
Stewart, C. (2009). Socioscientific controversies: A theoretical and methodological framework. Communication Theory, 19, 124–145.
Stille, A. (1999). There’ll always be something or other. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/05/02/reviews/990502.02stilet.html
Takayama, K., Sriprakash, A., & Connell, R. (2017). Toward a postcolonial comparative and international education. Comparative Education Review, 61(S1), S1–S24.
Tuck, E., McKenzie, M., & McCoy, K. (2014). Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research. Environmental Education Research, 20(1), 1–23.
Vivienne Westood (VW), (n.d.). Vivienne Westwood, Retrieved from http://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-gb
Zeidler, D., Walker, K., Ackett, W., & Simmons, M. (2002). Tangled up in views:
Beliefs in the nature of science and responses to socioscientific dilemmas. Science Education, 86(3), 343–367.
Zembylas, M. (2017). Re-contextualising human rights education: some decolonial strategies and pedagogical/curricular possibilities. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 25(4), 487–499.
Zembylas, M., & McGlynn, C. (2012). Discomforting pedagogies: Emotional tensions, ethical dilemmas and transformative possibilities. British Educational Research Journal, 38(1), 41–60.

Published

2017-12-20

How to Cite

Carter, L. (2017). A Decolonial Moment in Science Education: Using a Socioscientific Issue to Explore the Coloniality of Power. Brazilian Journal of Research in Science Education, 17(3), 1061–1085. https://doi.org/10.28976/1984-2686rbpec20171731061