Reconceptualising Science Education Practices from New Literacies Research

In light of profound socio-economic and technological changes, the research from New Literacies has raised fundamental questions on the nature of literacy in the way we read, write, and communicate. Yet, in science education, research in literacy has been largely restricted to the domain of print-oriented academic language. This paper aims to set the issues of literacy in science education in a broader context by responding to several challenges raised in New Literacies research: (a) the attention to youths' diverse cultural and media practices, (b) the sociocultural practices of specific discourse communities, and (c) the increasing multimodal semiotic landscape. The paper presents a model that synthesizes various research areas in New Literacies for the development of new pedagogy and classroom practices in the nexus of literacy and science education. The proposed model provides a convergence of diverse theoretical perspectives from research in various disciplines, and presents an opportunity for cross-disciplinary research in both science and literacy education.