Expanding the Scope of Science Education to Engage with Anthropocene Challenges

Abstract While the socio-ecological challenges of the Anthropocene are complex and interdisciplinary in nature, contemporary science is profoundly implicated in understanding and responding to them. The latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Development (PISA) 2025 Science Framework has responded by expanding the scope of science education to prepare students for the decision-making and action-taking required of all citizens in the face of these contemporary challenges. Yet, mainstream science education has historically been dominated by a program of introducing students to the conceptual products and associated practices of science. In this manuscript we briefly trace the history of science-society-environment advocacy in science education to argue that the dimensions needed for this revitalisation are in many senses a natural extension of historical movements, but that some dimensions, particularly the need to develop decision-making skills and action focusing on developing student agency and calls for consideration of diverse ways of knowing and social justice framings, require a substantive extension of traditional practice. We explore the history of how agency has been framed in science education research, and apply theory and practice developed within the field of environmental education to explore ways forward for engaging students in the substantial agentic practices implied by the PISA Science Framework. In particular, we examine the construct of agency as a useful extension to earlier constructs attempting to capture critical action-oriented educational purposes. We draw on existing practices in both the science and environmental/climate change education literature to suggest classroom practices that represent this expanded vision of science education.