ESERA SIGs

SIG 13: Social Justice and Solidarity in Science Education

Mission and vision statement

The Social Justice Science and Solidarity in Science Education (SJSE) SIG mobilises the science education (SE) community to advance theoretically and empirically educational justice and solidarity with educators, students, scholars and their wider communities whose fundamental right to education is threatened or violated through scholasticide, knowledge cleansing and systemic oppression. Our mission is grounded in the understanding that SE is not merely the transmission of scientific knowledge and skills, but the cultivation of critical scientific literacies and true generosities that form the basis upon which societies rebuild and thrive.

As such, SJSE envisions a SE community that not only publishes and reads the word, but also acts through transformative justice and solidarity in and for the world. We envision SE as a powerful tool for hope, transformation, and reconstruction, and this SIG seeks to support that vision for our community. In advocating so, we recognise that SE is inherently political and cannot be divorced from the social, political and ethical contexts in which it operates. As a result, our vision is of sustainable futures that are genuinely inclusive, where the lives, education and futures of all peoples are sustained, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality or other identity markers. We affirm that advancing SE requires advancing peace, justice and the right to education for all, especially those most harmed by oppressive power structures. So we will work
towards a SE community that draws on diverse stories of collaboration, displacement, war, and survival to inform collective praxis, ensuring that lessons learned across contexts of educational destruction, oppression and dismantling are applied to support SE communities and scholars at risk.

Core objectives

1. Amplifying marginalised voices: SJSE works to amplify the voices of science educators who have been systematically silenced, displaced, or endangered. We aim to contribute to our community with plural voices around knowledge generation, its unfolding, preservation, and recognition.
2. Advocating for justice-oriented science education: SJSE supports ethical institutional practices, examines funding sources and partnerships, and advocates for policies that ensure resources support justice rather than oppression within SE.
3. Critical rethinking of sustainability through justice: SJSE examines how institutional structures, research practices, and funding partnerships may contribute to environmental and human destruction, advocating for sustainability frameworks that are grounded in social justice and that extend to all peoples, entities and places.
4. Supporting scholars and students at risk: SJSE actively works to ensure that scholars and students facing persecution, displacement, or educational destruction can continue learning and working, and remain connected to global science education networks.
5. Building international solidarity networks: We aim to facilitate connections amongst scholars committed to SE justice, creating spaces for solidarity work, emotional and professional support and coordinated action across international academic networks.

Coordinators:

Haira Gandolfi, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (term 6 years); heg38@cam.ac.uk
Betzabe Torres Olave, University of Groningen, The Netherlands (term 4 years); b.torres.olave@rug.nl
Giancarlo Artiano, University of Naples Federico II, Italy (term 4 years)