Reimagining pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): integrating cultural knowledge as a vital component of PCK

As twenty-first century classrooms become increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse, understanding the professional knowledge teachers draw upon to make science meaningful and accessible for students has become central to science education research. Guided by the Refined Consensus Model (RCM) of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), this study examined the cultural knowledge and understandings teachers perceived to be critical in informing effective science teaching in culturally diverse Fijian classrooms. Grounded in Pacific Research Methodology, Talanoa served as both the research design and method for exploring teachers’ pedagogical decision making and classroom practice. Twelve Year 7-8 teachers from Fijian primary schools participated in three group Talanoa sessions. The findings suggest that culture contributes to teachers’ PCK in two interconnected ways, functioning both as a knowledge base that informs science teaching and as a filter that shapes pedagogical decision making and enactment. The study proposes a modest extension to the RCM that recognises cultural knowledge as a distinct knowledge base and culturally embedded values as filters influencing the enactment of PCK in culturally diverse science classrooms. The study highlights the need for teacher knowledge frameworks to account for how culture shapes both what teachers know and how they enact that knowledge in practice.