Decolonial STEM Education and the Integration of a Critical Global Citizenship Education Framework in an Ontario Secondary School

This study explores how the HEADSUP framework can help STEM teachers integrate anti-oppressive and critical social justice frameworks into their teaching. Using a qualitative case study approach, STEM teachers and students in an Ontario secondary school participated in weekly sessions to learn about utilizing HEADSUP. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with teachers and observations by the research team. The findings demonstrate the opportunities and challenges of decolonizing STEM education in Canadian schools through critical decolonial frameworks. Interviews with teachers revealed that integrating HEADSUP amplified students' voices and promoted active engagement in STEM classrooms. Teachers also highlighted that the HEADSUP framework helped students connect more fully with the curriculum and encouraged them to explore concepts beyond the STEM curriculum. The findings also show that utilizing anti-oppressive and social justice frameworks in STEM classrooms can be challenging due to constraints imposed by the current provincial curriculum. Implications for policy are discussed.