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Science and Technology Education Promoting Wellbeing for Individuals, Societies and Environments pp 625–638Cite as

Countering the Neoliberal Ontology of Nature: The STEPWISE Option

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Part of the book series: Cultural Studies of Science Education ((CSSE,volume 14))

Abstract

I believe that schools can serve as engines of social change, and can even be repurposed to serve progressive goals as shown by the STEPWISE project. However, much of the lessons and insights that STEPWISE offers may remain inaccessible unless read diffractively by critique and propelled through dialogue. It is in this spirit that this chapter critically examines the STEPWISE framework in light of its potential to offer the theoretical space and resources needed for evidence based, scientifically grounded understanding and collective democratic environmental and social justice activism. A critical part of coming to know the world relates to labeling the world, and officially sanctioned ontologies as reflected in official discourse of school science play an important role in shaping students’ views of the world. In this chapter, therefore, I compare and contrast the neoliberal ontology of the natural world as embedded in the mainstream, official science curricula in the United States with the ontology undergirding the STEPWISE framework to showcase the strengths and limitations of STEPWISE oriented science instruction for environmental action. I also discuss ways in which the STEPWISE framework can be further strengthened to better serve the goal of preparing students that can act as sharing, cooperative and public good maximizing homo reciprocans to create a more ecologically and socially just world.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ‘STEPWISE’ is the acronym for Science & Technology Education Promoting Wellbeing for Individuals, Societies & Environments. It is a theoretical and practical framework that organizes teaching/learning goals in ways that encourage and enable students to self-direct research-informed and negotiated actions to address personal, social and environmental problems linked to fields of science and technology. To learn more about this framework, refer to Chap. 2 in this book.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Ajay Sharma

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  1. Ajay Sharma
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Correspondence to Ajay Sharma .

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

    Larry Bencze

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Sharma, A. (2017). Countering the Neoliberal Ontology of Nature: The STEPWISE Option. In: Bencze, L. (eds) Science and Technology Education Promoting Wellbeing for Individuals, Societies and Environments. Cultural Studies of Science Education, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55505-8_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55505-8_31

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