A Theoretical Framework for Pedagogical Innovation in Senegalese STEM Education: Integrating Culturally Responsive Praxis and Technological Integration

Abstract

STEM education in Senegal faces persistent challenges, including low learner engagement and achievement. Prevailing pedagogical approaches often fail to connect with learners' lived experiences and the local socio-cultural context, while technology integration remains superficial. This article constructs a novel theoretical framework designed to guide and analyse pedagogical innovation in Senegalese STEM education. Its objective is to synthesise and advance principles for integrating culturally responsive praxis with meaningful technological integration to improve educational outcomes. The framework is developed through a structured theoretical synthesis, drawing on and critically integrating established concepts from sociocultural learning theory, the literature on culturally responsive pedagogy, and models of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The synthesised framework posits that effective innovation requires a dual-axis integration where technological tools are leveraged to animate and explore culturally embedded knowledge systems. A central proposition is that approximately 70% of lesson content should be purposefully anchored in local epistemologies, artefacts, or problem contexts to foster deeper cognitive engagement. The proposed framework provides a coherent, context-sensitive lens for designing, implementing, and evaluating STEM teaching practices. It moves beyond generic calls for relevance or technology use by specifying their necessary interrelation within the Senegalese educational landscape. Curriculum developers should employ the framework to design prototype STEM units. Teacher education programmes must incorporate its principles to prepare educators for culturally-sustaining technology integration. Further research should test the framework's propositions through design-based implementation studies. theoretical framework, STEM education, pedagogical innovation, culturally responsive pedagogy, technological integration, Senegal This paper offers a new integrative theoretical model that uniquely couples the operationalisation of culturally responsive teaching with specific technological integration strategies for the Senegalese STEM context.