THE IMPACT OF MULTICULTURAL PEDAGOGY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION ON THE ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AND PERSPECTIVES OF CULTURAL MINORITY STUDENTS By Megan Lewis A Project Submitted to the Faculty of The Evergreen State College In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree Master in Teaching 2009 i This Project for the Master in Teaching Degree by Megan D Lewis has been approved for The Evergreen State College by George Freeman Jr Ph D Member of the Faculty June 2009 ii PREFACE As usual my family was everything that I could ever need them to be in supporting me through the process of completing this project continually checking in on me and so sweetly invested in my pursuits I am grateful to my parents for being so selflessly supportive this year I owe thanks to my brother for lending me his laptop for a month before our final draft was due when my own laptop broke and my sister whose companionship helped me remain balanced while completing this project All three of our faculty contributed substantial effort and sacrificed a great deal of their own time to be supportive of us in this endeavor I appreciate these actions greatly I feel enormously grateful to Dr George Freeman for being so understanding and supportive as I worked my way through the process of completing this review I also appreciate the work Dr Terry Ford and Dr Masao Sugiyama put into our thesis seminars and statistics classes respectively I want to extend thanks to the many sounding boards sages and sincere hearts that exist within the 2007 2009 MIT cohort Their contributions to me and to each other with regard to peer review processes support meetings and maintaining good health and spirits were vital Finally to all of the people trying to make sense of the complexities of human nature and human interactions particularly the people included in my references I admire you greatly and appreciate the sincerity with which you devote yourselves to work aimed ultimately at removing oppressive forces iii ABSTRACT This paper explores the interaction between culture and science and the impact of various multicultural science education practices on student attitudes and achievement The first chapter presents the epistemological arguments underlying support of and opposition to such practices and defines multicultural science education in the context of multicultural education and science education The second chapter traces brief histories of both of the above mentioned fields and their coming together as multicultural science education within the past twenty five years The third chapter presents a critical review of the literature that presented five main findings First this review corroborated the fact that there is an interaction between culture and science on many levels and that if a student s culture is substantially different from Western science culture a negative attitude toward science may result Second this review presented studies which illustrated that incorporation of student worldviews can have a positive impact on student attitudes and achievement in science Third a few studies indicated that it is also important to consider other factors in student science outcomes Fourth research suggesting the use of particular practices with African American students demonstrated that these strategies are beneficial for all students and may be misinterpreted as cultural preferences Finally this review gave examples of the usefulness of culturally specific practices from Haitian students in the science classroom In conclusion the research presents an accurate overview of the current work in the field This work supports a generally positive outlook for multicultural science education practices but the iv research is not substantial enough or stringent enough to exercise these practices without care There is much room for future research within this field with particular attention to the selected research populations and to attempting to decipher the complexities of multicultural educational practices v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE Error Bookmark not defined SIGNATURE PAGE ii PREFACE iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS vi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction 1 Rationale 1 Traditional Focus in Science Education 3 The Nature of Science 4 Perspectives on Learning 6 Multicultural Science Education 8 Definition of Terms 11 Limitations 13 Statement of Purpose 14 Summary 14 CHAPTER TWO A SHORT HISTORY OF RELEVANT FIELDS 16 Introduction 16 Scientific Traditions around the World 17 Science Education before the Emergence of Multicultural Education 19 The Roots of Modern Science Education from Pre 1900 to 1930 19 Progressive Education and Science from 1930 to 1950 22 vi The Emergence of Multicultural Education 23 Historical Treatment of Ethnically Underrepresented Peoples 23 The Intergroup and Ethnic Studies Educational Movements 25 Science Education after the Emergence of Multicultural Education 27 The Golden Age of Science Education from 1950 to 1977 27 Textbook Controversies and Back to Basics from 1977 to 1983 28 Multicultural Science Education 1980s to Present Day 29 A Nation at Risk the 1980s 29 A Contrast with the Golden Age the 1990s 31 Science for All and the New Millennium 32 Chapter Summary 32 CHAPTER THREE CRITICAL REVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH 34 Introduction 34 Impact of Culture on Science Learning 35 Presence of Interactions between Culture and Science Education on Many Levels 35 Summary 45 Student Based Interactions Between Culture and Science Education 45 Summary 61 Impact of Multicultural Science Education Practices on Achievement and Attitude 62 Impact with Regard to Practices Involving Worldviews Ways of Knowing and Prior Knowledge 62 vii Other Perspectives Regarding the Impact of Worldviews and Ways of Knowing on Science Education 79 Summary 85 Impact with Regard to Practices Involving Cultural Practices and Skills 86 Examples from Primarily Urban and African American Settings 86 Summary 110 Examples from Haitian and Other Settings 111 Summary 122 Chapter Summary 122 CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSION 125 Introduction 125 Summary of Findings 127 Impact of Culture on Science Education 127 Summary 131 Impact of Multicultural Education Practices on Science Attitudes and Achievement 132 World Views Ways of Knowing and Prior Knowledge 132 Summary 135 Culturally Specific Practices and Skills 137 Summary 141 Examples from Haitian and Other Settings 142 Summary 144 Summary 144 viii Implications for Practice 146 Summary 147 Further
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