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Fostering a Multicultural Science Curriculum in South Africa

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
International Handbook of Research on Multicultural Science Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

In recognition of the broad cultural diversity of its citizens, South Africa’s school science curricula are premised on a multiculturalist position that science is culturally produced and that “cultures have disparate ways of understanding the natural world and that different ways of knowing should be recognised as science” (Le Grange South Afr J Higher Educ 18:82–91, 2004, p. 204). From a curriculum ideological perspective, the chapter traces forces that drove the transformation of curriculum policy that inflicted on South African learners a monocultural curriculum that was largely irrelevant to their cultural background, toward a curriculum that assumes a multicultural position where Western modern science and African indigenous knowledge are complementary. The chapter adds to the clamor of voices on the role of multicultural science education and the need for a multicultural science curriculum within the South African context. The authors also explore the validity of the accusation that the tenets of multicultural science, which underlie the new curriculum, remain entrapped in policy and are not being realized at the level of implementation. Accordingly, the authors engage the reader in an introspection of the current status of multicultural science in the country by reviewing research on classroom practices, teacher perspectives on challenges and affordances, and teacher education for a multicultural science curriculum. Based on this analysis, the authors plot a way forward for a multicultural science curriculum in South Africa.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Umesh Ramnarain & Lydia Mavuru

Authors
  1. Umesh Ramnarain
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  2. Lydia Mavuru
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Correspondence to Umesh Ramnarain .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Mary M. Atwater

Section Editor information

  1. New Mexico State University, League City, TX, USA

    H. Baptiste

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Ramnarain, U., Mavuru, L. (2022). Fostering a Multicultural Science Curriculum in South Africa. In: Atwater, M.M. (eds) International Handbook of Research on Multicultural Science Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83122-6_32

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