High School Students Explore Science Identity Through Participatory Science in Informal Education Program

Abstract

Science identity is central to students' desire to continue their STEM learning, yet many students struggle to see themselves as scientists. To create learning environments where all students can see themselves in science, we need a comprehensive understanding of the elements that contribute to student science identity. We developed and implemented a community-focused participatory science curriculum, examined how well Carlone and Johnson's (2007) three-part model of science identity—based on performance, competence, and recognition—captured students’ experiences, and investigated novel elements of science identity that emerged from data voiced by the students who participated in our program. We employed mixed-methods analysis of pre- and post-program surveys, a repeated measures survey, and interviews from our ethnically and socioeconomically diverse high school student population. We suggest additional elements of science identity that emerged from our data and show how participation in our program impacted students’ science identity. We found that students’ definitions of a scientist can interfere with their ability to recognize role models or see themselves as scientists, highlighting the importance of countering stereotypes and emphasizing that performing scientific tasks is a key component to becoming a scientist. Our findings are relevant to educators seeking to encourage science identity development. We suggest that educators should support students to broaden their definitions of a scientist into definitions that could include themselves.