Controversial issues in science: Exploring the power dynamics of applying critical pedagogies in secondary schools

This article reflects on the implementation of critical pedagogies in a secondary school science classroom in England, in a project titled: “controversial topics in science”. It explores the transformative potential as well as the challenges of implementing critical pedagogies in the neoliberal secondary school. The project critically engages with dominant science education and proposes a situated and emancipatory approach to teaching science. Drawing on Theatre of the Oppressed as methodology, the research explores changes in the power dynamics amongst participants, their relationship with learning and the institution. This article suggests that this work is part of a paradigm shift towards critical pedagogies and, as such, provides an insight to the potential of expanding relevant approaches throughout the science curriculum beyond the classroom.