Luehmann, A., Zhang, Y., Boyle, H., Tulbert, E., Merliss, G., & Sullivan, K.
Original article: Toward a justice‐centered ambitious teaching framework: Shaping ambitious science teaching to be culturally sustaining and productive in a rural context.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 61(2), 319-357.  https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21917

With many schools adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and implementing Ambitious Science Teaching (AST), we have a real opportunity to shift science education toward deeper, more meaningful, and justice-oriented learning. However, NGSS and AST alone do not fully address equity and social justice—critical components for engaging all students, especially those from historically marginalized communities.

The Study: Supporting Justice in Science Classrooms
This qualitative case study followed three teams of preservice science teachers during a six-day summer camp in a rural community unfamiliar to them. Teachers planned, taught, and reflected on lessons designed around NGSS and AST, but adapted their instruction using culturally sustaining pedagogy—a framework that encourages educators to honor and elevate students’ cultures while promoting academic success.

Key Teaching Strategies That Emerged:

• Centering community-relevant phenomena in science investigations
• Using students’ stories and lived experiences as both curriculum and scientific data
• Partnering with local experts and community members to connect science to place
• Helping students publicly share their scientific thinking with community stakeholders

These practices helped students develop both scientific understanding and community pride, while also redefining the role of the teacher as a co-learner, collaborator, and advocate.

Introducing the JuST Framework: Justice-Centered Ambitious Science Teaching
Based on these findings, the researchers developed the JuST (Justice-centered Ambitious Science Teaching) framework, which:

• Builds on AST’s structure, strategies, and shared language
• Adds explicit commitments to equity, cultural relevance, and community connection
• Provides practical supports for new teachers engaging in social justice-oriented science teaching

The JuST approach invites teachers to be learners of local culture—understanding students' ways of knowing, heritage, and community priorities—and to co-create curriculum with their students.

Practical Implications for Science Teachers:

• Build relationships with families and community members to identify local phenomena that matter
• Use student narratives to shape lessons and scientific arguments
• Involve students as co-creators of knowledge, and give them platforms to communicate their learning publicly
• Reflect on your own positionality and cultural knowledge as a science educator

Taking Steps Towards Equity in STEM:
Culturally sustaining, justice-centered teaching ensures that students see themselves in science, and that they see science as a tool to understand and transform their world. The JuST framework offers an actionable path for making equity not just a goal—but a practice in science classrooms.

Keywords: science, STEM, equity, social justice, culturally relevant teaching