Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration
In the developing world, particularly in Africa, physics teachers face the challenge of facilitating the acquisition of scientifically relevant knowledge that aligns with the learners’ social and cultural context. This position paper, situated within the ongoing discourse on the decolonization of th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125003420 |
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| author | Uchenna Kingsley Okeke Sam Ramaila |
| author_facet | Uchenna Kingsley Okeke Sam Ramaila |
| author_sort | Uchenna Kingsley Okeke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the developing world, particularly in Africa, physics teachers face the challenge of facilitating the acquisition of scientifically relevant knowledge that aligns with the learners’ social and cultural context. This position paper, situated within the ongoing discourse on the decolonization of the African education system, examined how physics pedagogy, which is a vital part of secondary school science education, could be decolonized by integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) which the students encounter in their daily out-of-classroom experiences, and which is a constituent of their prior experiences of informal knowledge of the subject. The integrative methodology for the review of literature was adopted to examine and comprehend knowledge decolonization within the classroom and the necessary expertise required to achieve such objective. The emphasis of decolonization in this article lays in the promotion of IKS, acknowledgment and integration of students' prior informal experiences of the physical sciences. This is underscored by the necessity to integrate both vertical and horizontal structures of knowledge conceptualization. The article examined the potential of contextual approach to instruction, and adaptive expertise as a potent skill for the achievement of knowledge integration. Adaptive expertise is identified as an essential skill to navigate the challenges of contemporary science and science education. To achieve knowledge integration, the paper proposes a contextualized inquiry approach as a suitable technique. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-489cab9ca5214b0998f3f1f38ad342ec |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2590-2911 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-489cab9ca5214b0998f3f1f38ad342ec2025-08-20T02:09:52ZengElsevierSocial Sciences and Humanities Open2590-29112025-01-011110161410.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101614Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integrationUchenna Kingsley Okeke0Sam Ramaila1Corresponding author.; Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Johannesburg, South AfricaDepartment of Science and Technology Education, University of Johannesburg, South AfricaIn the developing world, particularly in Africa, physics teachers face the challenge of facilitating the acquisition of scientifically relevant knowledge that aligns with the learners’ social and cultural context. This position paper, situated within the ongoing discourse on the decolonization of the African education system, examined how physics pedagogy, which is a vital part of secondary school science education, could be decolonized by integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) which the students encounter in their daily out-of-classroom experiences, and which is a constituent of their prior experiences of informal knowledge of the subject. The integrative methodology for the review of literature was adopted to examine and comprehend knowledge decolonization within the classroom and the necessary expertise required to achieve such objective. The emphasis of decolonization in this article lays in the promotion of IKS, acknowledgment and integration of students' prior informal experiences of the physical sciences. This is underscored by the necessity to integrate both vertical and horizontal structures of knowledge conceptualization. The article examined the potential of contextual approach to instruction, and adaptive expertise as a potent skill for the achievement of knowledge integration. Adaptive expertise is identified as an essential skill to navigate the challenges of contemporary science and science education. To achieve knowledge integration, the paper proposes a contextualized inquiry approach as a suitable technique.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125003420Decolonization of science educationContextualized instructionAdaptive expertise |
| spellingShingle | Uchenna Kingsley Okeke Sam Ramaila Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration Social Sciences and Humanities Open Decolonization of science education Contextualized instruction Adaptive expertise |
| title | Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration |
| title_full | Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration |
| title_fullStr | Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration |
| title_short | Decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction: An exploration of the nature of science, adaptive expertise, instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration |
| title_sort | decolonizing secondary school science education through contextualized instruction an exploration of the nature of science adaptive expertise instructional implications and pedagogical frameworks for knowledge integration |
| topic | Decolonization of science education Contextualized instruction Adaptive expertise |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125003420 |
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