Other Spaces for Young Women's Identity Work in Physics: Resources Accessed through University-Adjacent Informal Physics Learning Contexts in Sweden

Autor/inn/en	Gonsalves, Allison J.; Johansson, Anders; Nyström, Anne-Sofie; Danielsson, Anna T.
Titel	Other Spaces for Young Women's Identity Work in Physics: Resources Accessed through University-Adjacent Informal Physics Learning Contexts in Sweden
Quelle	In: Physical Review Physics Education Research, 18 (2022) 2, Artikel 020118 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Schlagwörter	Physics; Science Instruction; Females; Self Concept; Science Interests; Educational Experience; Informal Education; Internship Programs; Summer Schools; Case Studies; Undergraduate Students; Student Attitudes; Academic Aspiration; Social Networks; Interpersonal Relationship; Scientists; Work Environment; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Student Characteristics; Disproportionate Representation; Sweden + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Physik; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Weibliches Geschlecht; Selbstkonzept; Bildungserfahrung; Informelle Bildung; Nichtformale Bildung; Berufspraktische Ausbildung; Summer school; Sommerkurs; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Schülerverhalten; Social network; Soziales Netzwerk; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Scientist; Wissenschaftler; Arbeitsmilieu; Ausland; Geschlechterkonflikt; Schweden
Abstract	For young women, inbound identity trajectories into physics are generally regarded as exceptional. In this study, we investigated the experiences that young women have which may support their sustained interest and achievement in physics, and their ongoing inbound trajectories into post-secondary physics education. To understand these experiences, we look to the role of informal physics learning (IPL) environments as spaces which can offer resources that support women's trajectories into physics. In this paper, we highlight the important role of what we call "university-adjacent" IPL experiences--internships, summer schools, and associations that connect secondary students with the research lives of physicists. Focusing on case studies of six women enrolled in post-secondary physics programs across Sweden, we identify the various forms of resources made available through IPL environments, and how these create possibilities for young women to engage in forms of identity work that contribute to the construction of new possible selves in physics. Findings suggest that young women can access important relational and ideational resources through university-adjacent IPL programs. Relational resources included (a) supportive social networks, (b) enduring relationships, and (c) relatability. Importantly, our research finds that IPL opportunities that emphasize relationship building can create immersive experiences which go beyond representation and rather emphasize opportunities to develop "practice-linked identities." Ideational resources emerged as (a) sources of information which possibilized physics for participants, and (b) types of information that provided possibilities to learn about the life of a physicist. Finally, while we claim that IPL experiences provide important possibilities for young women to immerse themselves in the practices of physics, we also discuss that these kinds of experiences remain inaccessible to most students, and thus reproduce a certain elitism in the field. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: https://journals.aps.org/prper/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01