Selfies at the science museum: exploring girls’ identity performances in a science learning space

Abstract

Science education has a seemingly intractable gender problem and remains largely the reserve of White, middle-class men and boys, especially in the physical sciences. In this paper, taking an intersectional approach to Butler's idea of identity as performance, we explore the affordances and limitations of a specific science learning space (a science museum) for girls. We discuss four types of performance, one based on 'good' behaviour, one combining masculinity and 'race'/ethnicity, one of silence and one based on being 'cool'. We focus on the experiences of 25 girls aged 12-13, from a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, from two inner-city, state-run, co-educational London schools, in the UK. We argue that the museum space put girls in a difficult position for both learning science and enacting the identities they were invested in.We conclude by reflecting on the implications for science learning spaces that disrupt rather than reproduce social inequalities.

Straight From the Girls: The Importance of Incorporating the EDGE Design Attributes at Exhibits

“…; Dawson et al. ; Rosser ). Experts in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy have revealed similar findings with other nondominant groups (e.g., Gay ; Ladson‐Billings ).…”

“…Research has found that nondominant communities are able to perceive that museums are not designed for them (Dawson , Dawson et al. ; Dawson ). Opening our practices to include, represent, and value a broader variety of female perspectives clearly provides a more engaging environment (Banks et al.…”

“…This bias toward the masculine, often excludes learners (of all genders) whose interests and experiences are not aligned with those ideals (Achiam and Holmegaard , Dawson ; Dawson et al. ; Fenollosa et al. ; McCreedy and Dierking ).…”

Young people’s tech identity performances: why materiality matters

“…These young women appeared to prefer verbal, pen-and-paper and photographic modes to construct their portfolios. They tended to use tablets mostly for selfies, performing identity through social media and digital spaces, which we suggest tended to be social rather than tech identity performances (Dawson et al, 2020). While we do not seek to draw broader conclusions from the small numbers of young people we worked with, we suggest that the young people's tendency to perform identity through different modalities can be interpreted as both reflecting and (re)producing dominant gender relations.…”

“…A number of researchers have, for example, focused on observations of embodied performances of identity (e.g. Archer et al, 2016;Danielsson, 2011;Dawson et al, 2020;Mendick, 2005). These studies have looked at the ways that participants perform their identities through physical appearance, behaviours and interactions.…”