González, Paulina Bravo;
Reiss, Michael Jonathan;
(2025)
Introducing sociopolitical approaches to science education: an integrative review of the concept of subjectivity in science curricula and continuous professional development programmes.
Studies in Science Education
10.1080/03057267.2025.2563997.
(In press).
Preview |
Text
Bravo González Reiss 2025 SSE Introducing sociopolitical approaches to science education - an integrative review.pdf Download (866kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Drawing on the sociopolitical turn within science education, we critically examine subjectivity production in curriculum developments and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes. Through a review of 178 outputs, we identify three themes: (a) subjectivity meanings in science, sociological perspectives, and science education; (b) sociopolitical questioning in science education and the curriculum; and (c) challenges to CPD programmes, where the challenges are sensitive to issues of power imbalances. This integrative review maps critical approaches and debates, problematising science curricula and CPD programmes. We discuss curriculum development, teachers’ participation, and the role of teacher educators and universities in CPD programmes. We show how curriculum developers are typically positioned as the thinkers who ‘wish’ to improve the quality of science learning in schools with their ideas, while schoolteachers are seen as simply the implementers of those thoughts. We offer directions on the sociopolitical turn using subjectivity, questioning assumed norms through social, political, and cultural lenses within school science education. For any teacher educator conducting CPD programmes, the sociopolitical approach could help shape the reconceptualisation of such programmes by incorporating power-sensitive questioning about such issues as the way that the CPD is designed and conducted, and the professional development of the teacher educators themselves.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Introducing sociopolitical approaches to science education: an integrative review of the concept of subjectivity in science curricula and continuous professional development programmes |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03057267.2025.2563997 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2025.2563997 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Keywords: | Sociopolitical turn; science education; subjectivity; science curriculum; continuous professional development (CPD) programmes |
| 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 - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10215857 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
