Science discourse and epistemic practices norms for the development of scientific epistemology in physics lessons

Abstract

This study argues that insufficient attention has been focused on explaining the alienation phenomenon toward physics knowledge. The discontinuity towards the physics knowledge requires an exploration about the scientific epistemology development. Scientific epistemology is a study that focuses at nature of knowledge and its acquisition process which treat physics as a way of knowing. The situation of Malaysian physics education is viewed as alarming and a new method of investigation is required to establish a more accurate representation of the current state of physics education. An exploratory study of the norms of science discourse and epistemic practices was therefore conducted to explore the scientific epistemology development through the lens of critical realism. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used as a methodology to address methodological issues in representing the development of scientific epistemology. The data were obtained from non-participant observations, self-reflexivity, interviews and audio-video recording. Observation and recording sessions were conducted over a period of nearly three months among four physics teachers with different educational backgrounds and their students in Johor Bahru. The analysis identified six elements underpinning the norms of science discourse and epistemic practices: epistemic agency, activity oriented by discourse, discourse moves, epistemic episodes, epistemic operations and epistemic moves. The powers that shape the norms are identified as knowledge authority (epistemic agency), privatizing and publicising ideas (epistemic agency and epistemic moves), epistemic devices and managerial moves (epistemic operations) and social conditions (activity of discourse and discourse moves). Further to this, the implication of the accepted norms is directed to a focus on teachers’ confirmation bias and expanding epistemological resources for students. Physics teachers should reflect on their norms so they can support the chain of scientific epistemology development among the students in learning physics.