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The Ethical Subject of Science Education

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Ethics and Science Education: How Subjectivity Matters

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Abstract

In this chapter I present and discuss results from the textbook study that was introduced in Chap. 2. I demonstrate that discourses of Ontario biology textbooks position students to address particular ethical issues in very specific ways such as amending law and policy and making changes to personal lifestyles. I argue that discourses of science education inevitably limit the choices for students to engage ethically in science education and that educators need to explore other ways of thinking and acting ethically in science education, such as collective political action (protest and community organizing).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is a literal example of Butler’s (1997) point that a subject’s freedom is tied to subjection to the law. Butler (1997) does not mean only “law” in the juridical sense, but any social order that constitutes individuals as subjects.

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Correspondence to Jesse Bazzul .

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Bazzul, J. (2016). The Ethical Subject of Science Education. In: Ethics and Science Education: How Subjectivity Matters. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39132-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39132-8_3

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