What is feminist pedagogy and how can it be used in CSET education?

Abstract

Feminist pedagogy has been theorized, applied, and evaluated in many different disciplines, including women's studies, communication studies, education, and cultural studies. Until recently, however, this term was extremely rare in CSET education. This paper is the first in a collection of four papers that bring feminist pedagogy into CSET education. The goal of this first paper is to introduce background material necessary for understanding feminist pedagogy and to report the outcomes of an informal survey of current perspectives regarding feminist pedagogy. This paper includes a short history of the women's movement in the U.S. to provide context for the development of feminist pedagogy, a discussion of common values and beliefs among all feminisms, and an articulation of how three particular feminisms (liberal feminism, ecofeminism, and Black feminist thought) could improve CSET education. The paper concludes with a brief summary outlining ways in which adopting feminist pedagogy could improve CSET education