Field Ecology: A Modest, but Imaginable, Contestation of Neoliberal Science Education

ABSTRACT

Science education has become a valuable market tool, serving the knowledge economy and technocratic workforce that celebrates individualism, meritocracy, entrepreneurship, rational thought, and abstract knowledge. Field ecology, however, could be a modest, but imaginable contestation of market-driven neoliberal ideology. We explored diverse high school youths’ meaning making of a summer field ecology research experience. Youths’ narratives, elicited with a modified card sort and qualitative interviews, highlight the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical aspects of learning demonstrating considerably broader views of knowledge, meanings of the natural world and their place within it, and access to scientific practices than implied by neoliberalism.

Funding

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1114558. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Notes

¹ See Teitlebaum (2014) for an alternative perspective.

² Thank you to Angela Johnson for the insight.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1114558. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.