Nature of SCience for Critical Science Agency: Perspectives from upper secondary students who do not specialize in science

In this study, situated in Sweden, we explore how upper secondary students’ perspectives of Nature of Science (NOS) influence critical science agency (CSA) in various ways. Previous research highlights CSA as an important framework to promote social justice in science education. Hence, using the concept of CSA in this study contributes to knowledge about what aspects of NOS can be of relevance to a science education that aims for social justice. The data generation involves six focus groups with upper secondary students who do not specialize in science. We used directed content analysis with a deductive approach to analyse data. Four tentative NOS themes were developed: 1) Science and unjust societal structures, 2) Science and social change, 3) Science and source of information, and 4) Science and evidence. Each theme shows how students’ various perspectives on the NOS theme can support or limit CSA in different ways. The result implicates that when NOS supports CSA, there is a balance between extreme scepticism and blind trust in science. The four themes can function as a stepping stone to further explorations of what it might look like in science classrooms when NOS aspects contribute to aims of social justice. Hence, the study contributes to knowledge about what kind of content to include in science education that brings societal change in a direction of a more socially just future.