Reconstructing the Concept of Organic Intellectuals for Culture-based STEM Education and Educational Research

In this chapter, we explore how Antonio Gramsci’s concept of organic intellectuals can be put in the service of culture-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research. We present two cases where educational researchers collaborated with organic intellectuals in the design and implementation of culture-based STEM education interventions for teachers and learners in the U.S. and Ghana. These cases help to show how the concept has implications for community-based and race-reimaged scholarship. Conversely, the concept of organic intellectuals can be reconstructed when viewed in light of such scholarship. We end by providing some guidance for how researchers and organic intellectuals can enter into multi-directional exchange relationships where their shifting identities become generative resources for knowledge production.