A Manifesto for Critical-Feminist Science Education

Grounded in A Manifesto for Critical-Feminist Science Education, this initiative brings together a global, intergenerational community committed to transforming science education. It builds on decades of feminist scholarship and activism that have challenged exclusion, marginalization, and epistemic violence within science and its institutions.

We begin from a clear position: science education is not neutral. It is shaped by systems of power including patriarchy, colonialism, racism, ableism, and neoliberalism that continue to define who belongs, whose knowledge counts, and what futures are possible.

Why This Work Matters

Despite growing conversations around equity and diversity, much of science education remains constrained by surface-level change. Representation alone is not enough. Inclusion without transformation leaves systems of power intact.

At the same time, critical and feminist work is increasingly marginalized, censored, or pushed to the edges of the field—even as it offers essential tools for understanding and addressing injustice.

This theme responds to that moment.

It creates space for work that:

Names and challenges structural oppression in science education

Refuses neutrality when neutrality sustains injustice

Moves beyond rhetoric toward meaningful, transformative practice

Makes visible both systemic harm and everyday acts of resistance

Our Collective Approach

This special theme is rooted in a critical-feminist praxis that is:

Intersectional – addressing overlapping systems of oppression

Transdisciplinary – bringing together diverse fields and ways of knowing

Transnational – building solidarities across borders and contexts

Relational – grounded in care, community, and ethical responsibility

We center collaboration, collective knowledge-making, and what the manifesto describes as “brave, caring spaces” where silenced voices and critical perspectives can emerge and be sustained.

What We Are Building

This is more than a publication theme it is a space for reimagining science education.

We seek contributions that:

Rethink what counts as science and whose knowledge is valued

Disrupt dominant assumptions about objectivity, neutrality, and expertise

Explore new forms of pedagogy, research, and collaboration

Engage directly with the political, social, and historical dimensions of science

We welcome work that is critical, creative, and unconventional, work that refuses to fit neatly within traditional academic boundaries

An Invitation

This special theme is an open invitation to educators, researchers, and practitioners who are ready to push beyond the limits of current systems.

It is an invitation to:

Speak where silence has been enforced

Build connections across difference

Imagine and enact alternative futures

Contribute to a collective project of transformation

Together, we aim to reshape what science education can be politically, pedagogically, and imaginatively.

meet the team

  • Prof. Sara Tolbert Monash University Australia

    LEAD GUEST EDITOR

  • Prof. Tatiane Russo-Tait University of Georgia United States

    CO-GUEST EDITOR

  • Dr. Aswathy Raveendran Independent Researcher

    CO-GUEST EDITOR

  • Dr. Elena Vasiliou University of Bath United Kingdom

    CO-GUEST EDITOR

  • Prof. Sarah El Halwany Université de l'Ontario Français Canada

    CO-GUEST EDITOR

  • Dr. Rie Hjørnegaard Malm University of Southern Denmark Denmark

    CO-GUEST EDITOR

  • Dr. Katerina Pia Günter Umeå University Sweden

    CO-GUEST EDITOR