New Norms and Forms of Participation in Rural South African Science Classrooms

Abstract

New forms of classroom participation, envisioned as contributing to democracy, are advocated by the South African national curriculum. This paper investigates what form participatory science teaching can and should take in South Africa where the legacy of colonialism and apartheid remains and considers this question through the efforts of two pre‐service teachers who created new norms and forms of classroom participation. Findings demonstrate that extant and resonant cultural practices hold promise in promoting classroom engagement.