Mendeleev eponyms in the epoch of educational ethnocentrism
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Date
2023
Authors
Slabin, Uladzimir
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientia Socialis
Abstract
Eponymous terms play an important role in STEM education. This research focuses on the current
state of Mendeleev eponyms in the context of education and ethnocentrism, addressing their usage
in various languages, their educational value, cases of questioned priority and copyright violation
in Mendeleev major eponyms–periodic table and periodic system. 106 chemistry textbooks in
4 languages including Soviet-time and current Russian textbooks were perused to identify and
trace Mendeleev eponyms over 1924-2016. Advanced Google Search with queries in Belarusian,
English, Latvian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian was conducted to evaluate online presence
of eponyms “Mendeleev periodic table” and “Mendeleev periodic system.” It was found that
while Mendeleev eponyms occur generously on the Internet, periodic table and system with
Mendeleev’s name attached are seldom used on non-Russian webpages. Most Mendeleev eponyms
were made up in the USSR and remain popular and Russia, which can be explained within the
framework of ethnocentrism as a ruling tendency. Recognizing Mendeleev’s priority, Flinn and
Ross’s periodic systems can be considered plagiarized; a few factors might favor their emergence,
but ethnocentrism is unlikely to be one of them. Mendeleev eponyms remain valuable assets for
science education, acting as shortcuts to the history of science and actualizing interdisciplinary
connections.
Description
13 pages
Keywords
chemical education, eponym, ethnocentrism, Mendeleev, periodic table, periodic system
Citation
Slabin, U. (2023). Mendeleev eponyms in the epoch of educational ethnocentrism. Science and technology education: New developments and innovations. Proceedings of the 5th International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Education (BalticSTE2023). https://doi.org/10.33225/BalticSTE/2023.246