Examining Student Engagement with Science Through a Bourdieusian Notion of Field

Abstract

Student engagement with science is a long-standing, central interest within science education research. In this article, we examine student engagement with science using a Bourdiusian lens, placing a particular emphasis on the notion of field. Over the course of one academic year, we collected data in an inner London secondary science classroom through lesson observations, interviews and discussion groups with students, and interviews with the teacher. We argue that applying Bourdieusian theory can help better understand differential patterns of student engagement by directing attention to the alignment between students' habitus and capital, and the field. Student behaviours that did not meet the requirements of the wider field were not recognised and valued as constituting engagement. Even when the 'rules of the game' of the science classroom were understood by the students, the tensions they experienced within the field made engaging with science impossible and undesirable. We discuss how a greater focus on the field can be useful for planning future interventions aimed at making science education more equitable.

Governmentalities of climate change education in England: Perspectives from history, policy and position-holders

“…Whilst acknowledging the theoretical complexity associated with engagement in educational contexts (e.g. Fredricks et al, 2004;Godec et al, 2018), this conceptualisation does not propose engagement as a replacement or a proxy for education. Rather, it suggests that further consideration of how engagement processes beyond schools could be coupled with formal education processes and result in a more integrated, holistic educational response to climate change.…”

Engaging Students in Science: The Potential Role of “Narrative Thinking” and “Romantic Understanding”

“…Apparently, because of their inherent nature, narrative and romantic understanding increase such possibilities (for understanding science). The message from a recent study by Godec et al (2018) should be a reminder of that. Even though their study-which they approached from a sociological/Bourdieusian perspectiveshowed that student engagement with science became possible only when students' "habitus" (i.e., set of deeply embedded and internalized dispositions) aligned with the "field" (i.e., the social environment of the classroom with certain sets of rules, relationships, and expectations), they did acknowledge the possibility of broadening the notion of "field, " so that more opportunities for more diverse students could be provided.…”

“…Furthermore, the variety of ways in which the term "engagement" has been interpreted in the literature poses an additional problem in regards to what the findings of the various studies on student engagement really mean. As Godec et al (2018) point out, engagement has been construed as enjoyment and interest, but also as motivation toward science, as well as future orientations toward science. Moreover, it has been taken to mean the degree (frequency) of students' participation in science related activities, as well as intensity of such participation.…”

“…In actual fact, such individual capacities are students' "capital, " which ought to be considered by teachers and curriculum designers. For it should be noted that it is the "field" that determines whether something (e.g., an individual capacity) can be considered as "capital" (see Godec et al, 2018). Future research is certainly needed to more clearly articulate how such "capital" can be tapped from the various perspectives on teaching and learning science (e.g., sociocultural, conceptual change) so that we better understand and appreciate its potential.…”

Going beyond the one-off: How can STEM engagement programmes with young people have real lasting impact?

“…The Science Capital Teaching Approach (Godec et al, 2018) was developed out of the Enterprising Science project in the UK. It takes a social justice approach to science teaching, and is based on a foundation of broadening what counts (whose voices and experiences matter and have a place) in the science classroom.…”