Science Education and Possible Futures

In this chapter I reflect upon contemporary challenges, which are posed to science educators in contexts of environmental crises, structural racism and threats to democracy. I argue that the idea of scientific literacy as informed decision making about science related issues has neglected analyses of cultural and socio-political dimensions of knowledge and claim that if discursive constructions of citizenship and social justice in Science Education are not problematised, they can easily be co-opted by neoconservative neoliberal agendas. Based upon upon Latin American scholars who discuss the impact of colonisation and its relationships with social inequality, environmental injustices and hierarchies between knowledge systems, I discuss examples of counter hegemonic educational experiences, which can provide alternatives and lead to productive debates about the role of schools and education in society.