Phronetic Science: Morally Guided and Praxis-oriented Science Education

The 21st century has exposed the limitations of Modernist dualist logic in addressing the complexities of contemporary life. Entities like COVID-19 and the environmental crisis exemplify "dualism-busting assemblages of the Capitalocene," presenting humanity with wicked problems that defy traditional ontologies. In this context, phronetic science―rooted in practical wisdom and morally guided praxis―offers an alternative approach to navigating equivocal circumstances for the common good. Western Modern Science has long dominated curriculum, teaching, and research, yet emergent science education scholars must now grapple with issues of equity, identity, and justice. This requires engaging with critical, feminist, Indigenous, decolonial, post-humanist, and other transformative perspectives. These alternative epistemologies and ontologies challenge hegemonic paradigms, urging new ways of conceptualizing research in science teaching and learning that are more inclusive, ethical, and responsive to the diverse realities of our interconnected world.

Rouhollah Aghasaleh, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Education at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt.

Sara Tolbert is Professor of Science and Environmental Education at Monash University, where she co-directs the Science Education in the Anthropocene Impact Lab (SEALab) and leads the Science Education Research Group (SERG). She holds an honorary professorship at the University of Canterbury in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kathryn Scantlebury is Professor Emerita from the University of Delaware, a guest researcher at the Centre for Gender Research at Uppsala University, Sweden, and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Bhaskar Upadhyay is Rodney Wallace Professor for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota.