Himanshu Srivastava

In the past 40-50 years, the scientific enterprise has faced lot of criticism from various quarters. Important questions have been raised by various people's movements on the nature of scientific activities and the direction of the technocentric model of development. The nexus between science, state and industry has come to the limelight. In the light of these criticisms, while one needs to critically examine the interrelationship of science, technology and society itself, its implications for science education are also immense.

Even within the science education community, the quandary of what are the appropriate aims of science education stands unresolved. One needs to take a side and explicate one's standpoint before criticizing the dominant discourse or proposing an alternative. Committed to explore the possibilities of transformative science education, I draw motivation for my PhD work from three different but related directions: 1) the recent work in science education which is along Freirean line of thought and views inculcation of critical scientific literacy as the primary goal of science education and makes a case for politicizing science curriculum, 2) the scholarly work on conceptualizing science education in the neoliberal context emphasizing the subtle connections between the scientific enterprise, global capitalism, and the State, and 3) the work happening under the umbrella of science education for social justice and sustainability. My current work can be broadly classified under place-based education.

In this context, I explore the nature of educational experience 14-16 year olds go through about waste, consumption, environment, development, health and hygiene. The participants in my study include children living close to a landfill, children working with waste, their parents, community workers, representatives of civil society, scientists etc. An understanding of their knowledge about various aspects of waste, the political economy of waste and their fundamental value commitments about environment, development, consumption, cleanliness and hygiene will help conceptualize a model for transformative science education i.e. what kind of educational experience students should go through to counter various oppressive forces which are nurtured by the neoliberal economy.

Education:

• PhD (Science Education, ongoing), Homi Bhabha Centre For Science Education, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai     [2012- ]
• M.A. (Elementary Education), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai     [2011]
• B.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur   [2005]

 

Work Experience:

• [Dec 2007 - July 2012]   Eklavya, Indore, M.P.
• [Sep 2005 - Dec 2007]   Whirlybird Electronics Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai 

Areas of Interest:

• Science Education for Social Justice and Sustainability
• History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science
• Environmental Education
• Teacher Education

Publications:

Journal papers:

1. Haydock, K., & Srivastava, H. (2017). Environmental philosophies underlying the teaching of environmental education: a case study in India. Environmental Education Research, 1-28. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1402170 

Conference papers:

1. Srivastava, H. & Raveendran, A. (2017, Aug 21-25). Waste as a context for justice-oriented science education. European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Dublin: Ireland.
2. Srivastava, H. & Khan, T. (2017, Aug 21-25). Analysing classroom discourse on waste from the standpoint of urban poor. European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Dublin: Ireland.
3. Srivastava, H. (2017). Shikshak prashikshan karyashalaon me pathyacharya, pathyakram aur pathyapustakon ki sameeksha ka mahatva: Hamare auzaar asal me kitne durust hain? [Translation: Role of curriculum, syllabus and textbook analysis in teacher education workshops]. In H. K. Deewan (Ed.) Skoolee shiksha ke badalte paridrishya me adhyaapan karm ki rooprekha: Seminar proceedings of Shiksha ke sarokaar-I (pp. 99-100). New Delhi: Ambedkar University.
4. Srivastava, H., Khan, T., & Raveendran, A. (2016, Nov 19-21). Analyzing formal educational exposure of children living close to the Deonar dumping ground. Paper presented at the Seventh CESI International Conference: 'Comparative Educational Destinies: Visions, Dilemmas and Challenges'. Tirupati, India.
5. Srivastava, H. & Gupta, A. (2017, April). An integrated approach to waste education. In S. Kumar (Ed.) Conference proceedings of International conference on Integrated solid waste management in developing countries (pp. 74). Nagpur: CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI).
6. Srivastava, H. & Haydock, K. (2014, Nov 16-18). Environmental issues in a few secondary science classrooms: Do larger issues of political economy enter? Should they? Paper presented at the Fifth CESI International Conference: 'Education, Politics and Social change', New Delhi, India. 
7. Srivastava, H. (2011, Dec 24-25). Teaching kinematics in high school physics. 1st International Science Congress, Indore, India.

Books:

1. Chari, R., Srivastava, H. & Shrivastava, P. (2013). Motion and Force Part -1. Eklavya Publications : Bhopal.

Book chapters:

1. Sudhir, U., & Srivastava, H. (2016). Vigyan shikshan: Itihaas, vartmaan aur aage ke raaste. In Paliwal, R. & Sudhir, U. (Eds.), Vigyan aur uski shiksha (pp. 130-149). Bhopal: Eklavya.
   
   

Popular articles (in Hindi):

1. Srivastava, H. (November, 2015). नजर नजर का फेर. Sandarbh, 43 (100), 1-13.
2. Srivastava, H. & Sudhir, U. (November 2013). भोपाल में कुतुब मीनार. Sandarbh, 31 (88), 15-20.
   
3. Srivastava, H. (November 2012). विद्युत और चुंबक का आपसी रिश्ता, Sandarbh, 25(82), 7-20. 
4. Srivastava, H. (September 2012). वो दो पूंछ वाली छिपकली, Chakmak, 24-26.
5. Srivastava, H. (October 2009). त्वरण, वेग और चाल, Sandarbh, 8 (65), 48-58.
6. Sudhir, U. & Srivastava, H. (May 2008). क्या चांद पर चौके-छक्के मारना आसान होगा?, Chakmak, 14-15.