The essays in this book draw from current debates concerning schooling and the need for liberatory education, the social construction of science and of identity, and systems of race, class, and gender oppression and domination. These works force us to confront such questions as, How can we shape practice and curriculum to address the needs of diverse learners? In what ways do the marginalized discourses in theory and practice push us to fundamentally reformulate our conceptions of teachers/teaching, students/learning, and subject matter knowledge (science and what it means to know and do science) and the multiple relationships between and among these domains? In what ways do the marginalized discourses in theory and practice push us to fundamentally reformulate our conceptions of «science for all?» What it really means, in the day-to-day practice of teachers, to enact more liberating pedagogies? This collection serves to educate readers about the importance, history, and possibilities for marginalized discourses in science education and also to engage readers in multiple cases where contributors have systematically applied and examined what happens when these theoretical frames are brought to bear in classroom practice (K-12 science and science teacher education).

The Editors: Angela Calabrese Barton is Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include: science teaching and teacher education in poor, urban settings; feminist theory and science education; and homelessness and education. Her publications include Feminist Science Education (1998) and articles in the Journal of Teacher Education; Cybernetics and Human Knowing; Theory into Practice; Educational Policy; Journal of Research in Science Teaching; and the Journal of Curriculum Inquiry. Margery D. Osborne is Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on issues of reflective practice, «scientific literacy for all,» and feminist science teaching. Her publications include Constructing Knowledge in the Elementary School Science Classroom: Teachers and Students (1999) and articles in Cybernetics and Human Knowing; Theory into Practice; Journal of Research in Science Teaching; Radical Teacher; and the Journal of Curriculum Inquiry.