Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

“Now, I See”: Multicultural Science Curriculum as Transformation and Social Action

  • Published:
The Urban Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A case study for documentation of rich descriptive information about developing a multicultural science curriculum is the focus of this study. Three elementary preservice teachers challenge their ideas about science teaching and the urban context as they plan, teach, and assess their teaching of a multicultural science curriculum. Banks’ typology of multicultural curriculum reform was used as an instructional approach in a teacher education course and the analytical framework for this study. The findings of the study communicate three important points of discussion and implications for teacher education, science education, and multicultural curriculum development. Preparing teachers for urban schools dictates an explicit foundation and intentionality to expanding views about teaching and multiculturalism in urban classrooms, especially in the context of science education. The preservice teachers see the benefit of teaching science as Transformation and Social Action not only for their students but also for themselves as multiculturally-minded science curriculum developers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atwater, M. M. (2011). Significant science education research on multicultural science education, equity, and social justice. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atwater, M. M., Russell, M. L., & Butler, M. B. (2014). Multicultural science education: Preparing teachers for equity and social justice. Springer.

  • Banks, J. A. (1993). Multicultural education: Historical development, dimensions, and practice. Review of Research in Education, 19, 3–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banks, J. A. (2009). The Routledge international companion to multicultural education. Taylor & Francis Group.

  • Banks, J. A. (2013). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. (8th ed., pp. 242–263). Wiley.

  • Banks, J. A. (2016). Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum and teaching. (6th ed.). Routledge.

  • Berg, A., & Mensah, F. M. (2014). De-marginalizing science in the elementary classroom by coaching teachers to address perceived dilemmas. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22(57), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v22n57.2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (1992). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Allyn and Bacon.

  • Brown, J. C., & Livstrom, I. C. (2020). Secondary science teachers’ pedagogical design capacities for multicultural curriculum design. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 31(8), 821–840. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2020.1756588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. (2nd ed.). Sage.

  • Chen, J., & Mensah, F. M. (2018). Teaching contexts that influence elementary preservice teachers’ teacher and science teacher identity development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(5), 420–439. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2018.1469187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M. (2004). Walking the road: Race, diversity, and social justice in teacher education. Teachers College Press.

  • Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. (4th ed.). Sage.

  • DiSalvo-Ryan, D. (1994). City green. HarperCollins Publishers.

  • Evans-Winters, V. E., & Twyman Hoff, P. (2011). The aesthetics of white racism in pre-service teacher education: A critical race theory perspective. Race Ethnicity and Education, 14(4), 461–479. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2010.548376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.

  • Gay, G., & Howard, T. C. (2000). Multicultural teacher education for the 21st century. The Teacher Educator, 36(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730009555246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorski, P. C. (2009). What we’re teaching teachers: An analysis of multicultural teacher education coursework syllabi. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(2), 309–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.07.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorski, P. C. (2012). Instructional, institutional, and sociopolitical challenges of teaching multicultural teacher education courses. The Teacher Education, 47(3), 216–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2012.660246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irvine, J. J. (2003). Educating teachers for diversity: Seeing with a cultural eye. Teachers College Press.

  • Joseph, N. M., Haynes, C., & Cobb, F. (2016). Interrogating whiteness and relinquishing power: White faculty’s commitment to racial consciousness in STEM classrooms. Peter Lang.

  • Kazempour, M., & Sadler, T. D. (2015). Pre-service teachers’ science beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy: A multi-case study. Teaching Education, 26(3), 247–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2014.996743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, O., & Buxton, C. A. (2010). Diversity and equity in science education. Teachers College Press.

  • Leonard, J., Barnes-Johnson, J., Dantley, S. J., & Kimber, C. (2011). Teaching science inquiry in urban contexts: The role of elementary preservice teachers’ beliefs. Urban Review, 43, 124–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-010-0173-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mangiante, E. S. (2018). Planning for reform-based science: Case studies of two urban elementary teachers. Research in Science Education, 48, 207–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9566-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, D. B. (2013). Race, racial projects, and mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 316–333. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.44.1.0316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mensah, F. M. (2011). A case for culturally relevant teaching in science education and lessons learned for teacher education. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(3), 296–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mensah, F. M. (2013). Theoretically and practically speaking, what is needed in diversity and equity in science teaching and learning? Theory into Practice, 52(1), 66–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2013.743781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mensah, F. M., Brown, J., Titu, P., Rozowa, P., Sivaraj, R., & Heydari, R. (2018). Preservice and inservice teachers’ ideas of multiculturalism: Explorations across two science methods courses in two different contexts. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(2), 128–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2018.1425820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mensah, F. M., & Jackson, I. (2018). Whiteness as property in science teacher education. Teachers College Record Teachers College Record, 120(1), 1–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milner, H. R. (2006). Preservice teachers’ learning about cultural and racial diversity: Implications for urban education. Urban Education, 41(4), 343–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085906289709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nieto, S. (2000). Placing equity front and center: Some thoughts on transforming teacher education for a new century. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 180–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. National Academies Press.

  • Palinscar, A. S. (1998). Social constructivist perspectives on teaching and learning. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 345–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, E. C. (2014). Unpacking and critically synthesizing the literature on race and ethnicity in science education. Handbook of research in science education. (pp. 167–183). Springer.

  • Prime, G. M. (2019). Centering race in the STEM education of African-American learners. Peter Lang Publishing.

  • Richard, V. M., & Lahman, M. K. E. (2015). Photo-elicitation: Reflexivity on method, analysis, and graphic portraits. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 38(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2013.843073.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera Maulucci, M. S. (2010). Resisting the marginalization of science in an urban school: Coactivating social, cultural, material, and strategic resources. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(7), 840–860. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, A. J. (1998). Strategies for counterresistance: Toward sociotransformative constructivism and learning to teach science for diversity and for understanding. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35(6), 589–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, A. J., & Kitchen, R. S. (2005). Preparing mathematics and science teachers for diverse classrooms: Promising strategies for transformative pedagogy. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Sleeter, C. E. (2018). Multicultural education past, present, and future: Struggles for dialog and power-sharing. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 20(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v20i1.1663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sleeter, C. E., & Carmona, J. F. (2014). Un-standardizing curriculum: Multicultural teaching in the standards-based classroom. Teachers College Press.

  • Suriel, R. L., & Atwater, M. M. (2012). From the contribution to the action approach: White teachers’ experiences influencing the development of multicultural science curricula. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(10), 1271–1295. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upadhyay, B. R. (2006). Using students’ lived experiences in an urban science classroom: An elementary school teacher’s thinking. Science Education, 90(1), 94–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20095.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487102053001003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: Aguide to managing knowledge. Harvard Business Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Teachers College at Columbia University, 525 W 120th Street, Box 210s, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Felicia Moore Mensah

Authors
  1. Felicia Moore Mensah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felicia Moore Mensah.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mensah, F.M. “Now, I See”: Multicultural Science Curriculum as Transformation and Social Action. Urban Rev 54, 155–181 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-021-00602-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-021-00602-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation