Embedding ethics of care into primary science pedagogy : Reflections on our criticality

In this chapter, the authors analyze the difficulties and opportunities to broaden the purpose of science education using critical perspectives derived from ethics of care theory. Through the analysis of a science school-university collaborative project we discuss how the ethic of care theory became central to our work and how collaborative relations pushed the boundaries of acceptable practice and purposes of science education. We also reflect on the university roles relating to issues of parity and power within the collaborative project using narratives to describe the changes in expectations and participation. We provide an overview of the ethics of care as we believe it accedes with, and has the potential to progress criticality in science education. Carolina’s adoption and development of an ethics of care approach to her own teaching and scholarship is explored in light of her commitment to criticality and how she connects her personal life experiences, her previous path as a scientist and the political issues surrounding science. We contrast her views and our aims for the project we carried out with the teachers work and views. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of some insights that we hope will iteratively progress further the analysis and reporting of our approach to critical professional learning and pedagogy.