ERIC Number: EJ1478268
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0157-244X
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1898
Available Date: 2025-06-06
What's so Wrong with Personification? Toward a Theory of Personhood in Science Education
Sara Tolbert1,2; Bronwen Cowie3; Rose Hipkins4; Pauline Waiti5
Research in Science Education, v55 n4 p1047-1062 2025
In this article, we revisit the contentious history of personification to explore its potential for shifting the aesthetics of science education. We argue that personification can act as a boundary object to open up new aesthetic possibilities for science and education, toward an aesthetics of personhood. Drawing on philosophy, Indigenous knowledge systems, feminist science studies, and emerging scientific fields, we propose a relational notion of personhood for science education that is inclusive of human and more-than-human beings. We position relational personhood in science education as an aesthetic shift that can reconfigure what is possible, visible, and say-able in science education, ultimately contributing to a science education that is 'fit for the future' and respons-able to the challenges of the Anthropocene.
Descriptors: Scientific Concepts, Science Education, Aesthetics, Indigenous Knowledge, Feminism, Figurative Language
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Monash University, Faculty of Education, Melbourne, Australia; 2Te Whare Wananga O Waitaha, University of Canterbury, Te Kaupeka Ako-Faculty of Education, Otautahi Christchurch, New Zealand; 3University of Waikato, Division of Education, Hamilton, New Zealand; 4New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), Wellington, New Zealand; 5Ahu Whakamua Ltd., Northland, New Zealand

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