Scientific literacy and agency within the Chilean science curriculum: A critical discourse analysis

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Scientific literacy and agency within the Chilean science curriculum: A critical discourse analysis

Guerrero, GR; Torres-Olave, B; (2022) Scientific literacy and agency within the Chilean science curriculum: A critical discourse analysis. The Curriculum Journal , 33 (3) pp. 410-426. 10.1002/curj.141. Green open access

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Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the concepts of scientific literacy and agency in two official documents of the Chilean science curriculum. We used Fairclough's three dimensional model as critical lenses, based on critical discourse analysis, where every discursive event can be analysed: (i) as a text, (ii) as a discursive practice and (iii) as a social practice. The research questions were: ‘How are the different visions of scientific literacy operating and being promoted within the Chilean science curriculum?’ and ‘How is student and teacher agency declared in those documents?’ By understanding the curriculum as a dialectical process, as a social event between planning, executing, and evaluating education, we evidence tensions among different visions and paradigms for both concepts (scientific literacy and agency), specifically, in the transition from one cycle to another in secondary education. The first document has a predominantly neoliberal approach to scientific literacy and the second one presents a focus on citizenship, democracy, and social justice. As a social practice, in both documents, teachers appear under the idea of curriculum implementers, to a certain extent, based on a banking model where teachers are containers to receive someone else's curriculum expertise. The preceding imbalance raises potential tensions based on teacher performance and on student agency. Specifically, students must transition from a passive role and then consider themselves as active subjects who question how to produce knowledge, understanding their role within environmental conflicts within current socio-political structures for instance.

Type:	Article
Title:	Scientific literacy and agency within the Chilean science curriculum: A critical discourse analysis
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI:	10.1002/curj.141
Publisher version:	https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.141
Language:	English
Additional information:	This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords:	agency, critical discourse analysis, science curriculum, scientific literacy
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Centre for Doctoral Education
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10142172