Epistemic Justice and Science Education: Towards a Theory of Knowledge Validation in Multicultural Nigerian Secondary Schools

This study developed a theory of epistemic justice for science education in multicultural Nigerian secondary schools. Drawing on Miranda Fricker's framework and Nigerian multicultural educational realities, the study examined how knowledge validation practices in science classrooms either perpetuate or redress epistemic injustice affecting students from marginalised cultural and linguistic communities. A critical theoretical design incorporating philosophical analysis and grounded empirical fieldwork was employed. Field data were gathered from 15 secondary schools in Plateau, Kogi, and Rivers States. Sixty hours of classroom observation, 50 in-depth interviews with teachers and students, and critical document analysis of assessment and curriculum materials were conducted. Data were analysed using critical discourse analysis and epistemic justice theory. Findings showed systematic testimonial injustice, where students from minority cultural backgrounds reported their science contributions being devalued, and hermeneutical injustice arising from the absence of culturally grounded scientific concepts in the official knowledge structure. An original Theory of Culturally Inclusive Epistemic Validation for Nigerian Science Education is proposed, specifying structural and pedagogical conditions for equitable knowledge recognition. Recommendations include reconstituting science assessment rubrics to reward diverse forms of reasoning and training teachers in epistemic justice-aware science pedagogy. Keywords: epistemic justice, science education, multicultural Nigeria, knowledge validation, critical theory.