Seeing and supporting identity development in science education

The primary objective of this session is to highlight ways in which identity can be construed and studied within science education, and to advance a discussion about how science education can embrace its civic responsibility toward students to help them appropriate science as a meaningful tool in their lives beyond school. The four papers reflect a range of perspectives on the construct of identity and approaches to its study and development. Each presentation will focus on the authors' conceptualization of identity and identity development and their approaches to characterizing expressions of identity or identity change through student talk and/or participation in particular contexts of science learning. Presenters will discuss their own goals for identity development within science education, and the implications from their work for approaches to supporting positive identity development through science learning. Overview of the Session and Session Objectives A recent trend in science education is the concern that students develop identities in relation to science. This focus on identity is especially directed to students who belong to groups who are historically underrepresented in science: girls, ethnic minorities, and the poor (e.g., Calabrese Barton, 1998; Brown, Reveles, & Kelly, 2005; Carlone, 2004; Kozoll & Osborne, 2004). What it means to have a "science identity" can vary, of course, as individuals could potentially come to identify as scientists, or as consumers of science, or critics of science, and so on. Concurrent with this interest in identity construction, or development, as an outcome from "Science for All" reforms, an alternative to the traditional psychological construct of identity has emerged from new literacy studies (Gee, 2001), which view discourse as a medium for the development and expression of identity, and sociocultural theories of development more generally that view identity as one of the core outcomes of human development (Wenger, 1998). On this view, all learning entails a change in identity, as the meaning that individuals make of their place within the communities of practice in which they participate changes their view of themselves. This sociocultural view of identity also asserts that identities are socially constrained, in the sense that individuals cannot really assume identities that are not recognized within a community (e.g., poor urban students of color not being able to assume identities as good students). Yet, in "opening up" the construct of identity to acknowledge and try to account for its social dimension, the sociocultural notion of identity raises several issues. A key change from the traditional psychological construct is that sociocultural views see identity as enacted through one's participation in activity and discourse, as opposed to a set of psychological beliefs that can be interrogated through surveys or interviews. For example, Carlone and Johnson (2007) recently argues that someone who has a science identity demonstrates competent performance in relevant scientific practices and deep and meaningful knowledge and understanding of science, and recognizes herself and gets recognized by others as a “science person”. In other words, identity construction requires the participation of others. To be a particular kind of person (i.e., to enact a particular identity) requires that we talk, think, use tools, value, act, and interact in ways that render who we are and what we are doing recognizable to others (Gee, 2001). Thus, this stance on the role of identity in learning has implications for not only how we fashion learning but also how we seek to unpack the outcomes of learning methodologically. Opening up the construct of identity also calls into question how issues of power and positioning frame opportunities and outcomes of learning as well. For example, Brickhouse and Potter (2001) show us how complex the relationship between identity and success in school and in peer groups can be for urban girls. Their work reveals that through the experiences of marginalization in the science classroom and even in peer groups, urban girls learn that membership in a school science community is often impossible or undesirable. Having a science or technology related identity does not mean that one will necessarily succeed in school, if that science related identity does not also reflect the values of school-mediated engagement or if students do not have access to the resources they need to do science well. However, successful participation in school science or technology, despite a lack of resources in the home environment, can be better facilitated when students have a science related identity they can draw upon. The questions that frame this session emerge from opening up the construct of identity. They include: How do individuals develop identities with respect to “learning” science? How can identity development be measured and traced over time? Also, as identity change becomes an outcome of interest for science education, other questions arise. What does it mean to have a "science identity"? What kinds of identity would we like students to develop – should everyone develop an identity as a scientist? Why or why not? How do we support identity development in science classrooms, however we define them? Finally, from an equity standpoint, how do we help students in retaining identities that is desirable to them in their home communities while supporting them in crossing the boundaries of race, class and gender, in order to get access to a science culture that too often resides only in more privileged communities? The presentations in this session attempt to answer these questions related to seeing identity and supporting identity development in science classrooms. Yet while each paper draws upon rich data sources in order to bring to light critical issues and findings with respect to identity and science learning, each paper also brings into focus critical conceptual and methodological issues that shape identity-based research in learning. The presenters bring a range of perspectives on the construct of identity and approaches to its study and development. Each presentation will focus on the authors' conceptualization of identity and identity development and their approaches to characterizing expressions of identity or identity change through student talk and/or participation in particular contexts of science learning. Presenters will discuss their own goals for identity development within science education, and the implications from their work for approaches to supporting positive identity development through science learning.