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Rising against a gathering storm: a biopolitical analysis of citizenship in STEM policy

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Abstract

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a form of education seen by many governments and educators as a preparation of the types of students needed for the future. STEM education is being developed in many countries without the support of official policy, such as is the case in Canada. In the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and a private non-profit organisation, Achieve Inc.™, have been enlisted to develop policy to guide the development on STEM nationally. Due to its influence in global politics and economy, many countries, including Canada, are interested in how the United States is preparing its citizens for the future through STEM education. In this paper we present a critical discourse analysis on STEM policy from the United States as a basis to discuss: biopolitics in science education; notions of citizenship in contemporary school education and science education; and citizenship and STEM education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Darren Hoeg

  2. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Larry Bencze

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  1. Darren Hoeg
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  2. Larry Bencze
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Correspondence to Darren Hoeg.

Additional information

Guest Editors: L. Carter, M. Weinstein, L. Bencze.

This manuscript is part of the special issue “Biopolitics and Science Education''.

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Hoeg, D., Bencze, L. Rising against a gathering storm: a biopolitical analysis of citizenship in STEM policy. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 12, 843–861 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-017-9838-9

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