In this qualitative research study, I examine eight elementary educators perspectives on teaching science to diverse students in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). A critical pedagogy and antiracism conceptual framework is used to examine elementary educators perspectives on the interrelationship between student sociocultural background and science education. Ontario Ministry of Education policies and curriculum documents and science educational research are used to interpret themes/codes from the official literature on student diversity and science education. Key findings of my research study show that: (1) elementary educators’ are ‘socio-culturally conscious’ of diverse students in the science classroom; (2) elementary educators require a more complex and broader understanding of official discourses on the sociocultural contexts of science education and implications for scientific literacy development; and (3) professional development (i.e., workshops and training) and teacher collaboration opportunities are identified as effective strategies for supporting elementary educator in diverse science classroom spaces.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/35556 |
| Date | 10 July 2013 |
| Creators | Gayle, Janice |
| Contributors | Gérin-Lajoie, Diane |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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