Dr Thasmai Dhurumraj is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg and serves as an external curriculum developer and advisor at several public and private South African Higher education institutes. She also serves as Associate Professor for Teaching and Learning at the International Open University in Gambia. She has also been involved as research associate at UCT’s CILT division from 2019 until 2022 for DHET’s Cases on Open Learning Project. Her research niche area focuses on Equitable Science Inquiry.
The objective of this niche area is to advance the integration of social justice principles into science education curricula within both in-service and pre-service teacher education programs. This area has the potential to cultivate a learning environment that promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion, fostering a deeper understanding of the social dimensions of science and empowering educators to create socially just classrooms.
Equitable Science Inquiry can serve as a guiding principle for educators, emphasizing the need to infuse social justice perspectives into the science curriculum. Through encouraging teachers to cultivate an environment where students, regardless of their backgrounds, can engage in scientific inquiry that reflects a broader understanding of societal issues, historical contexts, and diverse perspectives. This could also be achieved through the use of various forms of ICTs and its associates.