Embedded Meanings in Pronoun Use: Defining Science Student Identities

• In Event: 35.075 - Identity, Relationships, and Research in the Science Classroom

Abstract

This seven-month sociolinguistic analysis examines pronoun use within an inquiry-focused Grade 5/6 classroom to interrogate how student identities and perceptions of the role of a science student are constructed during conversational classroom exchanges. Despite strong intentions towards an inquiry orientation, both at the school and classroom level, and an array of innovative instructional approaches employed by the classroom teacher, language choice—particularly with respect to the use of inclusive and exclusive pronouns—reinforced traditional interpretations of the authoritarian science teacher whose star students are serious, well-mannered, technically fluent, and practically adept. These findings highlight the deep challenges inherent in changing the nature and accessibility of scientific identities due to the, often unintentional, embedding of identity in language choices and norms.

Authors

• Marie-Claire Shanahan, University of Calgary

• Lydia E Carol-Ann Burke, University of Toronto