Education Extended: A Sociomaterialist Perspective on Science Education

Abstract

This essay uses a sociomaterialist perspective to shed new light on science education in general and scientific inquiry in particular. The focus is on human and non-human actors in science education—the pupil and the microscope. The analysis uses the concepts of figuration, apparatus and phenomenon to trace and illuminate performative figurations in science education. One of the conclusions is that the impact of events in a specific classroom extends far beyond local practices. In addition, it is shown that materialities are structuring forces, the crucial components that organize practices and produce values that in turn influence its members. In order to learn more about education, one has to step outside the immediate confines of the classroom in order to trace practices through assemblages of actors.