Teaching and sociocultural perspectives

The sociocultural dimension is an integral part of education systems, and classroom teaching and learning are neither culture- nor context-free. The learning of different subjects is bound to be affected to varying extents by the sociocultural backgrounds of learners and teachers, the political and sociocultural milieu, and the broader global education environment. Science education is no exception, despite the universal nature and empirical stance that are purported to be unique to science. The ideal vision of “science for all” implies that learning science and developing scientific literacy are a common entitlement of students, irrespective of their sociocultural background. However, a common consensus on what constitutes the aims, contents, and pedagogies of a “universal” science education has yet to be reached, and the ideal of equity of opportunity in learning science is far from a ... Copyright © 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.