Youth aspirations in science as an identity issue

1. Youth aspirations in science as an identity issue Russell Tytler

2. A longitudinal study in science • A Prep classroom sequence exploring ideas about evaporation • During both the interviews and classroom sequences, individual children were captured by other, particular narratives that competed for attention in their construction of meaning. This led to different perceptions of the salience of different features of the classroom experience. The task for each child was different, and often quite different to the purposes of the teacher and the researchers. • Calum, for instance, had a history of interest in science, and this was evident in both his thoughtful approach to conceptual engagement, and his enthusiasm in telling stories about his experiments at home. • Anna on a number of occasions referred to water soaking into the ground for the purpose of creating moist soil that helped the flowers (March transcribed probe) or worms (September interview). • Walter’s discursive shifts centred round enthusiastic and speculative connections with technical matters.

3. Prep children’s learning and subjectivities • Karen — a compulsive story teller • Karen had a need for adult recognition, and interwove compelling stories and intriguing associations with her conceptual insights, as a means of controlling attention. It would be difficult to ascribe a particular conceptual ‘position’ to Karen, but she is capable of multiple and clearly articulated interpretations of events. • Anna — science as a social event • Anna's memory of the puddle is strongly socially framed. In the April interview, she focussed on where she and her friends were in the photograph. She describes the frypan activity: • Anna: We watched it and that was Evelyn and I must be round here. That’s not me that’s you.

5. Anna’s puddle

6. Calum and Anna: Narratives of the self • Anna’s facility with language, and concern with finding the ‘right’ technical word, as representative of understanding • Over the prep year Anna increasingly became preoccupied with friends, and gendered occupations and games. Her concern for flowers and worms seemed to us to be part of a general ‘other’-oriented focus that also showed in her continual weaving of her friends into her responses. • Calum tends to be strongly disciplined in his thinking. His thoughtful responses in class and in interview, often accompanied by long pauses, and often including an ‘I don’t know’, illustrate the seriousness of his commitment to ideas. He has always seemed to enjoy sharing thoughts with us. His stories relate more to his life of the mind than to the personal and social matters that occupy Anna’s attention.

7. The longitudinal study • There was an evident continuity in children’s narratives of the self over the 7 years of the study • These narratives shaped their responses to schooling, to the classroom culture, and to their work • Their science understandings were strongly flavoured by their view of the learning task and how they related to that.

8. Aikenhead (2005) takes a critical perspective • Learning science is serious identity work • Science has been a political success but an educational failure • We need to rethink school science

10. Student perceptions of scienceImportant but not for me Ref: Jonathan Osborne

11. Engagement of student interest in STEM

12. Identity and STEM aspirations • There is a significant body of research on the impact of identity on the education-related choices of young people . • Identity is a construct that goes beyond concerns such as curricula, intrinsic interest or career intentions, to instead frame aspirations and perceptions in terms of social relationships and self-processes • Analysing decisions to participate in and choose STEM courses and careers through an identity framework, involves emphasising relationships with family, teachers, peers, and others, and identifying the degree of synergy, or disjuncture, experienced by young people between their everyday lives and their educational pursuit of STEM • Aspiration with regard to science is a function of identity construction in that students need to learn to align their identity as a science student with their impression of the identity of practising scientists (or people who use science).

13. Gendered identities • Haste (2004) found, in analysing responses to science, four groups of students • The ‘Green’ who held a set of ethical concerns about the environment (predominantly girls under 16). • The ‘Techno-investor’ who was enthusiastic about investing in technology and the beneficial effect of science (boys and young men). • The ‘Science Orientated’ who were interested in science and who held a belief that a ‘scientific way of thinking’ can be applied widely (predominantly boys over sixteen). • The ‘Alienated from Science’ who found science boring and were sceptical of its potential (predominantly younger girls and young women). • Haste (2004) found that girls were not less interested in science or science careers than boys, but focused on different things. They related more strongly to socially responsible and people-oriented aspects of science than to the ‘space and hardware’ aspects which often dominate communication about science. She argues that the science curriculum needs to represent both these dimensions of science, and to acknowledge the value aspects and ethical concerns surrounding science and its applications.

14. The Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) project, which surveyed student attitudes towards science in many countries, found that students’ positive responses to questions relating to the personal relevance of science had an extraordinarily high negative correlation with countries’ developmental index • Sjoberg, S. & Schreiner, C. (2005). How do learners in different countries relate to science and technology? (Results and perspectives from the project ROSE). Asia Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 1-17. http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/

15. Schreiner’s (2006) student types • The Selective Boy which as its name implies was predominantly but not totally male. He has clear ideas about who he is and shows his identity by expressing very high interest in stereotypical masculine topics. School science is interesting and not difficult but not as interesting as other subjects. Working with people is not important for him. • The Selective Girl which was predominantly but not totally female. This student is modern, reasonable, outspoken and self-expressive. She knows who she wants to be and who she does not want to be. School science is somewhat difficult, and not very interesting and she prefers other subjects much more. The topics she is interested in learning about are predominantly concerned with the human body and health • The Reluctant which consists of 37% girls. These students are aloof and unwilling and make clear to their peers that science is not their kind of stuff. They are not interested in learning about anything much in science; do not see the benefit of science to society and, in general, do not plan for a job that requires an advanced education. • The Undecided which consists of 40% girls. These students are not disinterested but there is not much interest either. Schreiner argues that this type of student is more or less invisible. These students do, however, prioritise environmental protection for society. • The Enthusiast which consists of 53% girls who find school science interesting, useful and not too difficult but science classes are not more interesting than other subjects. These are the school-committed student types; they like science and school and appreciate the value of education and school

16. Youth identity in late modern societies Schreiner (2006) identified five clusters of students • Mean Responses to the composite variable ‘future science studies and job’ by different groups. • All groups had an overall negative score on this variable • ‘I like school science better than most other subjects’ correlates strongly with this composite variable • Interest is therefore the key factor determining choice.

17. Identity and subject choice in late modern societies • Schreiner and Sjoberg’s analysis has a significant identity component. They draw on three perspectives to make sense of the data: • Issues that are perceived as meaningful for young people in a country are dependent on the culture and the material conditions in the country • An educational choice is an identity choice • Young people wish to be passionate aboutwhat they are doing and they wish to develop themselves and their abilities. They experience a range of possible and accessible options regarding their futures, and among the many alternatives, they choose themostinteresting.

18. A working hypothesis(Schreiner & Sjoberg, 2006) • Previous grand narratives and traditions that shaped societies have emphasised values such as obedience, conscientiousness and humility • These have been weakened by the dissolution of family, the increasingly reflexive nature of society, the changing employment situation and lack of certainty in career. • What is important for late modern youth? • The contribution of the individual • Self as project • What does it mean for me? • Instead of nation building values, the values of late modern societies focus on care for the environment, democracy, care for others, creativity and self-realisation

19. The implications for choice of subject • The desire of late modern youth to work in an area that they find meaningful is a driving force in their choice of subjects to study. Meaning is reflected in the valuing of activities that offer the potential for self-realisation; creativity and innovation, working with people and helping others; and/or earning lots of money. • A school science that is overly technically oriented and purportedly value free (building bridges, making chemicals) does not match such values. • What is needed is a transformation of the vision offered by school science – in essence a cultural and societal transformation that recognises the value of science and explains why science matters. Students need to see that the work of the scientist and engineer is at the centre of solving humanity’s problems and working with people.

20. Identity, interest, self-efficacy

21. Research agenda • The need to re-imagine school science to better represent how science ideas are used by a variety of people • Linking schools with community organisations to achieve put students in contact with science ideas and practices and the people who work with these • Finding ways of assessing shifts in student aspirations