ABSTRACT
The term authenticity is used in various areas and in different ways in science education. Among the many domains, the term can be found in investigations and discussions on assessment, curricula, educational contexts, and instructional approaches like inquiry and project-based learning. In each of these areas, the meaning of authenticity is seldom explicit. Oftentimes, readers must infer its meaning from how the term is employed and how it is situated within the surrounding texts. In this chapter, I revisit and reconsider the notion of authenticity via a parallel presentation. One exposition illustrates the previously stated in the life spaces of two African American women whose experiences are situated in two distinctive eras in the history of the US. The other presentation examines authenticity from a theoretical perspective. I conclude by positing a multidimensional view of authenticity in science education for African Americans as a collective.
