Knowing a Hawk from a Handsaw: Interdisciplinarity and STEM education research

Abstract

Who can make claims “to know?” This chapter argues that there are distinct sets of understandings in social science versus STEM fields, and that STEM education research can benefit from interdisciplinarity, instead of being disciplinary (principally the purview of STEM insiders). The concept “gender” proves illustrative. Among many social science scholars, gender is understood as a complex social construction: contingent, contextual, contested ways that masculinities and femininities are embodied, enacted, and differentiated in everyday social life – as compared to simple, dichotomous male–female comparisons. Comparing social science and STEM conceptualizations of gender leads to three conclusions. First, empirical research with more forward-looking conceptualizations demonstrate that outdated underpinnings in STEM research overlook important issues, such as seeking solutions within individuals (especially students) instead of in the educational community or STEM culture. Second, since the frontier of social science keeps moving, and STEM insiders’ appreciations will necessarily lag new understandings, STEM-insider research might unfortunately be outdated from inception. Thirdly, the chapter concludes that collaborations between/among STEM and social science scholars have greater potential for research with explanatory power, research able to contribute better understandings of and solutions for dilemmas of STEM education.

Citation

Tonso, K.L. (2008), "Knowing a Hawk from a Handsaw: Interdisciplinarity and STEM education research", Hartman, H. (Ed.) Integrating the Sciences and Society: Challenges, Practices, and Potentials (Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 31-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-1152(08)16002-1