Negotiating quotidian justice in the science classroom

In this conceptual paper, we explore how science teachers might enact social justice through their everyday science instruction. Drawing on empirical literature and our own K-12 teaching experience, we develop a heuristic for mapping classroom discourses to engage in action and reflection to change both the world of the classroom community, and the world beyond the school. We suggest how this heuristic can be used for justice-oriented science teaching independently of (or as a supplement to) any existing frameworks for science teaching to promote social justice. Our proposed model for social justice through disciplinary science teaching frames justice not as an abstract goal, but as the act of iterating ‘quotidian justices’ achievable in moment-to-moment pedagogical choices. We contend that this approach allows teachers to resist systemic injustices while also navigating institutional constraints.