Counter-hegemonic science education: understanding the effects of coloniality and proposing a decolonial pedagogy

The article “Hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourses in science education …”, by Flavia Rezende and Fernanda Ostermann (2019), presents an interesting critical analysis of the antagonisms between the meaning of “teaching science” and of “science education.” The authors took a critical look at the construction of knowledge in the area, focusing on curricular functioning forms. Two perspectives were analyzed: traditional science teaching or knowledge itself and critical science education or knowledge to do something. The forum article provides international examples, setting focus on Brazil. In Rezende and Ostermann’s article, they use theoretical categories such as hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourses to identify and defend the struggles situated in science education curricular proposals. My objective in this forum is to expand some ideas in line with counter-hegemonic discourses, emphasizing the understanding of the sociohistorical coloniality of knowledge to look at the science curriculum. Thus, I suggest that a deeper understanding of phenomena such as the transnationalization of curricula and the effects of coloniality can contribute to a critical and decolonialized perspective of science education.