Watch the Video: What Are Biosocial Sciences and What Are They Doing in Education?

“Imagine students had individualized education plans tailored using their genetic data, what kinds of families would have access to this genetically sensitive school system? And what would it mean for educational equity? Our world is full of technological advancements that were previously unimaginable.” 

Meet Daphne Martschenko, a research fellow at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, a BioFutures Fellow in the Stanford Department of BioEngineering, and co-founder of the international Race, Empire, and Education Research Collective. In the next in our series of ‘At Home’ videos (filmed in 2020) we asked Dr. Martschenko to break down what the biosocial sciences are and what they mean for education and education research. You can read more about the biosocial sciences in this Research in Education special issue, which she guest edited.  

“Today in education, the biosocial sciences are shifting how we think about and understand the student, the teacher and what it means to educate. Our views of ourselves as learners and educators are more malleable than they once were. The biosocial sciences are transforming conversations about stress in high stakes education environments. They’re influencing our views on mindfulness, and on how to enhance education systems. The field is changing the ways in which we build schools, and how teachers think about their students and how best to teach them. And yet, amidst all this transformation, we are to remind ourselves of the age old threats of racism, classism, sexism, and biological determinism. proactive steps will need to be taken to avoid repeating past and justices. So what can we do? Where do we start?” 

Watch the short video to find out!