Teachers' perspectives of teaching science–technology–society in local cultures: A sociocultural analysis

Abstract

The teaching of science–technology–society (STS) topics to school-age children is generally advocated by the science education community as a critically needed infusion throughout the K–12 science education curriculum. In many instances, the STS initiative does not play a significant role in the science teaching of practicing teachers because they perceive many topics as controversial. In this context, we undertook an exploration using a sociocultural perspective to understand teachers' perspectives on teaching STS topics. We employed the constructs of taboos (beliefs that constrain action by making those behaviors perceived as threatening by the members of the social group forbidden and improper for discussion) and noas (instructional topics that teachers generally perceived as not forbidden and as proper topics for discussion in local cultures) to investigate the perceptions of science teachers about controversial topics and curriculum infusion. Interpretative research strategies were used to describe and interpret five teachers' classroom practices of STS after an extended STS in-service experience. Two principal assertions relate the teachers' perspective on job security to their STS curricular decisions and the teachers' perceptions as outsiders to increasing conformity to the school's local culture and decreased teaching of controversial issues. A key implication for teacher education is that more attention should be placed on consideration of the impact of practitioners' beliefs concerning their local school cultures on their STS teaching practices. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 83:179–211, 1999.