Epistemic (in)justice in Science Teacher Education: A gaze through the Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0
Keywords:
epistemic injustice, heritage philosophy, science teacher education, knowledge (re)productionAbstract
Epistemic (in)justice has been described as ‘the crisis of African higher education’. Regardless of the state of awareness of this crisis, several African nations have implemented policies and curriculum frameworks to revolutionize their higher education. This transformation stems from the recognition that the future (re) production, distribution, and consumption of knowledge will be heavily influenced by the training of the current generation of knowledge (re)producers. In Zimbabwe, the development of science teachers is framed within the context of heritage-based Education 5.0. This philosophy emphasises that science teacher training be grounded in five pillars of the nation’s heritage: teaching, research, community service, innovation, and industrialisation. The potential of this heritage-based philosophy is to address predominantly Western-oriented entrenched epistemic injustices within higher education institutions. This study investigates the capabilities of heritage-based Education 5.0 to mitigate the epistemic injustices in science teacher education. An interpretive research approach was employed, involving the analysis of key policy documents related to heritage-based Education 5.0. The generated data was subjected to content analysis, with codes aligned to predetermined themes to report findings. The results indicate that the heritage-based Education 5.0 framework effectively addresses historical epistemic injustices in earlier science teacher education curricula. The findings further reveal that the policy promotes inclusive science education, gender-responsive methodologies, respect for student diversity, and the integration of heritage and multicultural practices. These strategies are identified as instrumental in mitigating the impacts of testimonial and hermeneutical injustices. The study recommends robust implementation measures, including increased funding for epistemic resources and tools in science teacher education, as well as ongoing professional development to encourage the adoption of transformative pedagogical practices.
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