The Role of Community in Becoming Science Experts

• In Event: Roundtable Session 54
  In Roundtable Session: Disrupting the Dominant Paradigm: Science Learning as Identity Formation, Community Action, and Transformation Toward a More Socially and Environmentally Just World

Abstract

Objectives & Framing
While there is a growing body of research focused on identity development and science learning, little of this research looks at how such identity formation is framed by girls’ engagement across different worlds that make up their lives, and in particular how such identity is deeply situated in place. We know that the influence of many out-of-school experiences that girls have are deeply influential in how they author possible selves in science. We are interested in how girls’ membership in specific figured worlds (e.g. formal science classroom, informal science spaces, home) can shape their identity development within and across these spaces.

We also know that when and how girls are supported in leveraging out-of-school resources, they increase their opportunities to learn science (Calabrese Barton and Tan, 2009). By bringing together these two domains of study in a longitudinal research project, we can further illuminate the complex nature of identity work, its connection to place, and its relationship to participation in the STEM pipeline. Our research question is: How do girls in differing urban environments author an identity in science, and what role does place play in such identity work?

Methods and sources of data
We use longitudinal ethnographic case studies of 29 girls in three cities. Data was collected over two years and three study sites. At each site data collection includes classroom observations, observations in informal science settings, student work, parent meetings, teacher interviews and structured and semi-structured youth interviews. Using cultural historical activity theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Leont’ev, 1978; Engestrom, 1987), we have mapped out mechanisms for how girls from nondominant groups in the US develop science-related identities that can impact their present and future science participation.

Findings & Significance
While it is known that family science orientation and out-of-school experiences support girls in pursuing STEM careers, the specific mechanisms for how and why these experiences support STEM trajectories remain unclear. One mechanism identified from our research indicates that having opportunities to develop novel identities such as a “community science expert” supports girls in overcoming the alienating experiences they encounter in school science. This mechanism for identity development is made possible when girls have productive interactions with practicing science and engineering experts and role models who support them in engaging both science and teaching along side them. Such side-by-side science and teaching practices support girls in developing core science practices at the same time as they have opportunities to practice leadership and authority in science as they educate less knowledgeable but caring others in ways that are culturally relevant and scientifically rigorous (i.e., siblings, parents, community members). Such identity work appears to transfer to school settings, where girls hold an “I’m an expert” attitude. Because our research takes place in urban settings, our findings have direct import for specific demographics that have not been represented well in the sciences and science related fields. This study provides a theoretically-based yet empirically-driven model for the relationship between identity development and participation in the STEM pipeline for minority girls.

Author

• Edna Tan, University of North Carolina at Greensboro