ERIC Number: EJ996299
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1468-1366
EISSN: N/A
"Not Girly, Not Sexy, Not Glamorous": Primary School Girls' and Parents' Constructions of Science Aspirations
Archer, Louise; DeWitt, Jennifer; Osborne, Jonathan; Dillon, Justin; Willis, Beatrice; Wong, Billy
Pedagogy, Culture and Society, v21 n1 p171-194 2013
Internationally, there is widespread concern about the need to increase participation in the sciences (particularly the physical sciences), especially among girls/women. This paper draws on data from a five-year, longitudinal study of 10-14-year-old children's science aspirations and career choice to explore the reasons why, even from a young age, many girls may see science aspirations as "not for me". We discuss data from phase one--a survey of over 9000 primary school children (aged 10/11) and interviews with 92 children and 78 parents, focusing in particular on those girls who did not hold science aspirations. Using a feminist poststructuralist analytic lens, we argue that science aspirations are largely "unthinkable" for these girls because they do not fit with either their constructions of desirable/intelligible femininity nor with their sense of themselves as learners/students. We argue that an underpinning construction of science careers as "clever"/"brainy", "not nurturing" and "geeky" sits in opposition to the girls' self-identifications as "normal", "girly", "caring" and "active". Moreover, we suggest that this lack of fit is exacerbated by social inequalities, which render science aspirations potentially less thinkable for working-class girls in particular. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential implications for increasing women's greater participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). (Contains 2 tables and 6 notes.)
Descriptors: Females, Caring, Sexual Identity, Physical Sciences, Career Choice, Elementary School Students, Femininity, Science Careers, Parent Aspiration, Longitudinal Studies, Surveys, Interviews, Feminism, Occupational Aspiration, Social Differences, STEM Education, Student Attitudes, Parent Attitudes, Classification, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A