A growing antiracist movement within biology and microbiology education is challenging the field to fundamentally reimagine how science education operates.
Imagine a science classroom where students from all backgrounds see themselves reflected in the curriculum, where teaching methods validate diverse ways of knowing, and where the very structure of education actively dismantles barriers rather than perpetuating them. This vision drives a growing antiracist movement within biology and microbiology education that's challenging the field to confront its exclusive legacy.
In a landmark analysis of the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education (JMBE), researchers have identified crucial opportunities for creating more equitable scientific learning environments. This isn't about simply adding diverse faces to existing structures, but about fundamentally reimagining how science education operates—from classroom practices to institutional policies 1 . The findings come at a critical time when gateway college science courses continue to exclude students from science, disproportionately affecting students of color .
Introductory science courses often act as filters rather than pumps, disproportionately excluding students of color from scientific careers.
Antiracist approaches require examining and transforming the systemic structures that perpetuate inequality in science education.
Antiracism in science education moves beyond passive non-racism to actively identify and eliminate racist structures. According to Kendi's framework, which guides this analysis, any policy, practice, or value is antiracist if it liberates and equalizes, and racist if it subjugates or oppresses 1 . This represents a significant shift from simply focusing on individual prejudice to examining systemic structures that perpetuate inequality.
"While the sciences claim to 'transcend culture,' Western science is derived from European thought and appropriated knowledge from non-European cultures" 1 .
Research analyzing educational literature has identified five conceptual areas where antiracist approaches can create meaningful change 1 :
| Opportunity Area | Current Challenge | Antiracist Shift Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Driving Motivations | DEI initiatives often driven by capitalistic goals (e.g., productivity) that benefit those in power | Embrace humanity-centered reasons like honoring community values |
| Agents of Change | Faculty typically targeted as primary change agents | Engage more powerful stakeholders (department/institutional leadership) to implement equitable policies |
| Research Focus | Studies often examine outcomes of inequity (e.g., lower retention) | Investigate systemic causes (e.g., exclusivity of science culture) |
| Teaching Methods | Assumption that active learning automatically creates inclusive environments | Tailor approaches to specific contexts and student backgrounds |
| Communication | Uncritical use of language that may perpetuate exclusion | Intentional examination of shared language and communication norms |
One compelling example of antiracist pedagogy in action is the iCREATE method, an innovative approach to teaching primary scientific literature (PSL) that adds inclusive elements to the established CREATE method 4 . Traditional science reading exercises often focus solely on technical content, ignoring the social contexts and applications of research.
iCREATE addresses this limitation by specifically asking students to consider whose expertise and perspectives matter when applying scientific findings to real-world problems.
Paper's abstract and concept map creation
Introduction, Methods, and Results sections
Hypotheses and research goals
Data interpretation through cartooning methods
What authors should conduct next
Diverse perspectives needed to apply research
In practice, iCREATE can be implemented in either a 50-minute or 90-minute class session, with students working in small groups to encourage collaborative learning 4 . Instructors select recent primary literature with clear connections to socioscientific issues like climate change or antibiotic resistance, ensuring the research has tangible social relevance.
| Assessment Area | Before iCREATE | After iCREATE | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science Identity | Lower identification as scientists | Increased sense of identity as scientists | Helps students see themselves as scientific contributors |
| Science Self-Efficacy | Limited confidence in scientific abilities | Greater confidence in performing science | Builds competence in engaging with primary literature |
| Inclusive Science Communication | Traditional, deficit-based communication approaches | Increased inclusive communication intent and behavior | Prepares students for collaborative problem-solving |
The iCREATE method doesn't just teach students to read scientific papers—it helps them develop more robust scientific identities and prepares them for inclusive scientific practice 4 .
| Concept/Framework | Function | Application in Science Education |
|---|---|---|
| Kendi's Antiracist Framework | Distinguishes between racist (subjugating) and antiracist (liberating) policies/practices | Provides foundational lens for evaluating curricula, policies, and teaching methods 1 |
| Cultural Models Theory | Examines shared schemas that shape beliefs and practices within a culture | Helps understand how STEM culture socializes participants and impacts belonging 2 |
| Participatory Social Capital | Focuses on resources accessed through organizational participation | Informs inclusive conference and meeting design to broaden network access 2 |
| Inclusive Science Communication | Emphasizes learning from diverse perspectives to solve socioscientific issues | Transforms how students connect research with societal applications 4 |
| Communities of Practice | Groups who share concerns and deepen expertise through interaction | Accelerates antiracist curriculum development through instructor collaboration |
Distinguishes between liberating (antiracist) and subjugating (racist) policies and practices.
Examines shared schemas that shape beliefs and practices within STEM culture.
Focuses on resources accessed through organizational participation and networking.
The work of building antiracist science education extends far beyond individual classrooms. The iEMBER network (Inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research) exemplifies how community-level organizing can foster inclusion across multiple dimensions 2 .
By redesigning scientific meetings and conferences to address often-overlooked markers of inclusion—such as panel composition, workshop facilitation, cost barriers, and childcare accommodations—the network creates spaces that disrupt traditional hierarchies in science 2 .
Similarly, the Tiny Earth initiative demonstrates how instructor communities of practice can rapidly develop and disseminate antiracist curricula. When microbiology instructors collaborated to redesign course-based undergraduate research experiences, they created collective change across classrooms nationwide .
This approach proves especially powerful because, as the JMBE analysis notes, "faculty are powerful actors to drive change, but their antiracist actions can go only so far without support from more powerful stakeholders" 1 .
The movement toward antiracist science education represents more than a temporary trend—it's a necessary reckoning with the exclusive legacy of Western science. By implementing approaches like the iCREATE method, redesigning scientific meetings, and leveraging instructor communities, educators are creating learning environments that honor the full humanity of every student.
This transformation requires looking beyond superficial diversity metrics to address the root causes of exclusion in scientific culture.
It demands that we challenge the myth of scientific neutrality and acknowledge how Eurocentric perspectives have shaped what counts as valid knowledge 1 .
"Without critical reflection on our practices and the theoretical reasoning behind our practices, we will continue to mitigate the symptoms of inequity without fully conceptualizing the disease itself" 1 .
The antiracist opportunities in biology and microbiology education offer nothing less than a chance to reimagine science as a truly inclusive, multicultural endeavor that benefits from the full range of human intelligence and experience.