Educational Debts Incurred by Racism and Sexism in Students' Beliefs About Physics

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: I Too Am STEM: Examining the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Identity

Abstract

The American Physical Society calls for improving the diversity of physics by supporting an inclusive culture that encourages women and people of color to become physicists. Evidence shows that physics education filters out students without sufficiently expert-like beliefs. We investigated the intersectional nature of race/racism and gender/sexism in inequities in student beliefs towards learning and doing physics using a critical quantitative intersectionality framework. The analyses examined students’ beliefs as measured by the Colorado learning attitudes about science survey. Results identified large differences across intersecting race and gender groups. White men tended to have more expert beliefs than any other group of students. Physics instruction must address these educational debts to create an inclusive environment for diverse students.

Authors

• Ben Van Dusen, Iowa State University

• Jayson Nissen, J. M. Nissen Consulting