Abstract
Marie Ståhl and Anita Hussénius have defined what discourses dominate national tests in chemistry for Grade 9 in Sweden by using feminist, critical didactic perspectives. This response seeks to expand the results in Ståhl and Hussénius’s article Chemistry inside an epistemological community box!—Discursive exclusions and inclusions in the Swedish national tests in chemistry, by using different facets of gender awareness. The first facet—Gender awareness in relations to the test designers’ own conceptions—highlighted how the gender order where women are subordinated men becomes visible in the national tests as a consequence of the test designers internalized conceptions. The second facet—Gender awareness in relation to chemistry—discussed the hierarchy between discourses within chemistry. The third facet—Gender awareness in relation to students—problematized chemistry in relation to the students’ identity formation. In summary, I suggest that the different discourses can open up new ways to interpret chemistry and perhaps dismantle the hegemonic chemistry discourse.
Highlights
International studies such as PISA and TIMSS that investigate students’ knowledge in various subjects are gaining influence in countries’ political decisions about educational systems (Jakobsson 2013)
Stahl and Hussenius describe the content in chemistry in the Sustainable Development Discourse with the following idea: ‘‘Even chemistry has lost its prominent role. It has become almost invisible’’ (p. 22). They conclude that the test questions related to this discourse are aimed at getting students to use everyday scientific knowledge, not specific chemistry knowledge, to answer the questions, with the result that it does not become clear that chemistry is an aspect of sustainable development
Different abilities and skills of the students are in demand and are the focus in these areas (Pedretti and Nazir 2011). Since these areas emphasize democratic values and citizenship, encouraging and developing students’ abilities to use science and technology to reflect on moral positions becomes important knowledge content. If this ‘‘epistemological box’’ should be expanded to include more chemistry discourses beyond the hegemonic, it is unfortunate that Stahl and Hussenius’s analysis shows that even for tests with questions covering environmental issues and everyday chemistry, answers that are allowed remain attached to a hegemonic chemistry discourse with a reductionist world view
Summary
International studies such as PISA and TIMSS that investigate students’ knowledge in various subjects are gaining influence in countries’ political decisions about educational systems (Jakobsson 2013). Keywords Chemistry Á Gender awareness Á Hegemonic chemistry discourse Á Identity Á Sustainable development After having read Marie Stahl and Anita Hussenius’s study, Chemistry inside an epistemological community box!—Discursive exclusions and inclusions in the Swedish national tests in chemistry, I wanted to continue the discussion of to whom science teaching is directed, in relation to chemistry subject content.
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