Conceptualizing Authenticity and Relevance of Science Education in Interactional Terms

Authenticity and relevance are two terms that are often mentioned when criticizing the content and practice of science education in school. This paper examines the meaning of authenticity and relevance in science education from an interactional perspective. Particularly, it compares and contrasts authenticity with productive disciplinary engagement, and relevance with expansive framing. We then use this comparison to discuss the tension between maintaining accountability to the discipline and fostering students’ agency and authority; a tension that is not sufficiently addressed in science education literature that addresses the conceptualization of authenticity and relevance. We suggest a research agenda that aims to resolve this tension by problematizing and articulating in fine detail the theoretical meaning of productive disciplinary engagement and expansive framing for science classrooms that are deeply immersed in authentic scientific practices and discourse.