Relegated to the Margins? The Place of STSE Themes in Québec Secondary Cycle One Science Textbooks

Abstract

Science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) themes occupy a prominent place in the reformed Québec junior high school science curriculum. However, studies have demonstrated that STSE curriculum reforms are often not translated into meaningful changes in classroom practice. Although there are multiple possible reasons for this gap between curriculum theory and teaching practice, one reason that is especially worthy of investigation is the fidelity of the curriculum materials that are provided to classroom teachers. Do the available textbooks convey the STSE curriculum goals, or is the STSE content effectively relegated to the sidelines? This analysis attempts to resolve this question using traditional content analysis techniques as well as a critical qualitative approach. We find that although the texts manage to address STSE goals to some extent, there is a significant occlusion of critical perspectives on STSE.

Résumé

Les thèmes liées aux STSE (sciences, technologies, société et environnement) occupent une place importante dans la réforme du curriculum scientifique au premier cycle du secondaire au Québec. Toutefois, les études montrent que souvent les réformes des curriculums en STSE ne se traduisent pas nécessairement par des changements significatifs dans les pratiques pédagogiques en classe. De nombreuses raisons peuvent sans doute expliquer cette différence entre le curriculum théorique et les pratiques d’enseignement, mais à notre avis l’une des raisons qui mérite qu’on s’y arrête en particulier est le niveau de correspondance entre le curriculum et le matériel pédagogique fourni aux enseignants. Les manuels disponibles rendent-ils justice aux objectifs du curriculum, ou les contenus en STSE occupent-ils effectivement une place marginale ? La présente analyse tente de répondre à cette question grâce à des techniques traditionnelles d’analyse des contenus, alliées à une approche critique qualitative. Nous constatons que, si les manuels pédagogiques répondent en partie aux objectifs visés, les contenus liés aux STSE pourraient être traités de façon beaucoup plus riche et approfondie.

Notes

These texts are the only texts that have been approved by the Ministry of Education for cycle 1 (year 1) instruction in Québec. Teachers must choose among these books—Action, Galileo, and Univers are available only in French; Eureka! and Connection are available in both languages. In this analysis, quotes from French texts have been translated into English by the authors.

As is consistent with other textbook content analyses, this study addresses the textbooks only and not the supplementary materials (i.e., teachers’ guides, student workbooks, and extra handouts), which were not formally analyzed. This is a limitation of the study that we acknowledge.

This may be, in many cases, precisely what students are required to do and, also, what they are habituated to doing. Larson (1995) has noted that some science students deliberately adopt a strategy of industriously memorizing possible test items (which are usually characterized by bold print in the text), but they do not concern themselves with engaging with or understanding the material beyond the threshold for test success. Eureka! and Galileo, which contain definition-heavy “Encyclopedia” sections, may be especially susceptible to this problem, but most of the books feature key terms in bold print.

Cultural references signifies content relating to current and historical social events.

The word critical has been added by the authors in order to correct a discrepancy between the French and English versions of this document.