Cultural influences in science education

This paper reports on a study conducted to examine cultural influences on science learning and cultural transmission in Canadian classrooms, spurred by research from Britain and the USA indicating under‐achievement and under‐representation in science by ethnic minorities and calls for scientific literacy by all students. Literature on multicultural education was reviewed to develop specific research questions, and an ethnographic study was undertaken. Results indicate that science continues to be presented aculturally and as ‘truth’. While differences in achievement by ethnic minorities are in evidence, they are context dependent, and the situation does not appear to parallel that in Britain and the USA.