Investigating the Role of Transformative Science Education in Promoting Social Justice Consciousness Among Secondary Students in Urban Nigeria

This study investigated the role of transformative science education in promoting social justice consciousness among senior secondary students in urban Nigerian contexts. Transformative science education draws on critical pedagogy to make visible the connections between scientific knowledge, power, and social equity, yet its implementation and effects within Nigerian urban secondary classrooms have not been empirically studied. A critical action research design was employed. The study was conducted in six urban secondary schools across Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Enugu over three academic terms. Science teachers collaboratively designed and implemented transformative science lessons addressing topics such as pharmaceutical access, food chemistry and poverty, and climate justice. A Social Justice Consciousness Scale validated with reliability of 0.84 was administered at pre- and post-intervention points. Focus group interviews explored student meaning-making processes. Results showed significant increases in social justice consciousness among students in transformative science classrooms compared to historical comparison data. Qualitative findings revealed that students developed heightened agency and civic motivation linked to science knowledge. The study makes an original contribution by providing theorised, contextualised evidence for transformative science education in urban Nigeria. A Contextualised Transformative Science Pedagogy Framework is proposed for national teacher education adoption. Keywords: transformative science education, social justice, urban Nigeria, critical pedagogy, student consciousness.