“Wow, I’m Actually Really Good at Science”: Expressions of Girls’ Science Identities at Summer Camp

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: STEM Identity and Aspirations of Underrepresented Learners in Physical and Virtual Informal Spaces (Table 11)

Abstract

A great deal of research concerns the development of science identity, but much of it concerns how science identity relates to workforce development or the improvement of in-school learning. Science identity theory comprises four aspects: competence, recognition, performance, and interest. Drawing from pre-post camp interviews and observations, I examine three girls’ science identity development during a free, two-week-long summer camp. Girls were categorized as having burgeoning, intermediate, and established science identities, based on different levels of self-recognition, recognition by others, and performance, and competence. Being able to show a more nuanced perspective on science identity development for girls at a summer camp contributes to our understanding of science identity within informal science learning environments.

Author

• Lisa Lundgren, Utah State University