Young African American children's representations of self, science, and school: Making sense of difference

Varelas, María; Kane, Justine M.; Wylie, Caitlin Donahue

doi:10.1002/sce.20447

Cited by 38 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Commitment to cultural and social antecedents as the cause of disparity grows out of work in educational foundations (Banks, 2005; Ladson‐Billings, 1995; Lee, Spencer, & Harpalani, 2003; Ogbu & Davis, 2003; Trueba, 1988). In science education this literature reflects the work of those who contest the role of culture in African American educational performance, and those who advocate for modified pedagogy based on culture (Brand, Glasson, & Green, 2006; Schademan, 2011; Varelas, Kane, & Wylie, 2011; Warren & Rosebery, 2011). Additionally, much like research that frames disparity in psychological terms, research that frames disparity in cultural or social terms does not explain how or why these cultural traits are disproportionately present in African American populations.…”

Section: African Americans In Science Education Literaturementioning

confidence: 94%

“life's first need is for us to be realistic” and other reasons for examining the sociocultural construction of race in the science performance of African American students

Mutegi

2012

J Res Sci Teach

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The body of research aimed at explaining the science teaching and learning of African Americans has identified myriad factors that correlate with African American's science career choices and science performance generally. It has not, however, offered any satisfactory explanations as to why those factors are disproportionately racially determined. This article argues that the sociocultural construction of race, which has roots in antebellum Western society, has endured to the present day; and that there is sufficient historical tradition and empirical evidence to warrant a research agenda that accounts for the sociocultural construction of race in explaining African American science education. The article concludes by suggesting a set of research questions and theoretical perspectives that considers the sociocultural construction of race to guide future research. ß

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Section: African Americans In Science Education Literaturementioning

confidence: 94%

“life's first need is for us to be realistic” and other reasons for examining the sociocultural construction of race in the science performance of African American students

Mutegi

2012

J Res Sci Teach

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“…While some students in Martin's study identified mathematics as being important for instrumental reasons, others like Annette identified with mathematics as an area of study and wonder. Varelas et al [2011], in their study referred to above focusing on early-grade science classrooms of African American children, showed yet another construct that lies in the intersection of CL and disciplinary and academic IC (section 11 of fig. 3 ).…”

Section: Identity Construction Interwoven With Knowledge Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For Steve, if scientists 'focus,' which means that they 'listen and get clear what they think,' they can get it right. But it is also important for Steve that scientists are not afraid to be wrong because, if they do make mistakes, they can just keep going until they discover what they are looking for [Varelas, Kane, & Wylie, 2011].…”

Section: Rogermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In one study, Varelas and Kane [Varelas et al, 2011] uncovered how young primary-grade Black children, in almost exclusively Black schools and in classrooms where their teachers attempted to engage them in meaningful scientific practices, were constructing academic and science identities that included conflicting practices, behaviors, ideologies, and habits of mind.…”

Section: Academic Identity and Its Influence On Disciplinary Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maria Varelas' and Justine Kane's research with students of color (Black and Latino/a) has shown how academic and disciplinary identities become intricately fused as students try to make sense of the disciplinary practices of science in which they engage and of the institutional norms of schools and schooling that they experience [Kane, 2009[Kane, , 2012aTucker-Raymond, Varelas, & Pappas, 2007TuckerRaymond, Varelas, Pappas, & Keblawe-Shamah, 2012;Varelas, Kane, & Wylie, 2011. In one study, Varelas and Kane [Varelas et al, 2011] uncovered how young primary-grade Black children, in almost exclusively Black schools and in classrooms where their teachers attempted to engage them in meaningful scientific practices, were constructing academic and science identities that included conflicting practices, behaviors, ideologies, and habits of mind.…”

Section: Academic Identity and Its Influence On Disciplinary Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Content Learning and Identity Construction: A Framework to Strengthen African American Students’ Mathematics and Science Learning in Urban Elementary Schools

2012

Self Cite

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We present a theoretical framework that views learning as a process involving content learning (CL) and identity construction (IC). We view identities as lenses through which people make sense of, and position themselves, through stories and actions, and as lenses for understanding how they are positioned by others. As people become more (or less) central members of a disciplinary community (e.g., a science or mathematics classroom) and engage (or not) in various cultural practices, changes in identity and knowledge accompany changes in position and status. IC and CL share an important characteristic: they both involve meaning making. For IC, it is the development of reasoned, coordinated, coherent, and meaningful ways of seeing one’s self in relation to communities, and for CL, it centers on the development of disciplinary concepts, processes, tools, language, discourse, and norms within practices. Focusing on Black students in mathematics and science classrooms, we claim that three intersecting identities are particularly important: disciplinary identity (as doers of the discipline, i.e., mathematics and science), racial identity (emerging understandings of what it means to be Black), and academic identity (as participants in academic tasks and classroom practices). In this paper, we elaborate on the CLIC framework as a useful tool for understanding how Black students negotiate participation in, and come to see themselves as doers of science and mathematics in their school classrooms. We synthesize empirical findings from our research with younger and older students, as well as with parents and community members, to illustrate dimensions of this framework.

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Young African American children constructing academic and disciplinary identities in an urban science classroom

Kane

2011

Science Education

Self Cite

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In this paper, I offer a framework for exploring the academic and disciplinary identities young African American children construct in urban science classrooms. Using interviews, fieldnotes, and videotapes of classroom lessons, I juxtapose the ways in which two children tell about their experiences in school and science with their performances of self in the midst of complex, spontaneous classroom engagements with their peers and teacher. I found that the children's performances of self in the classroom were consistent with the ways they spoke about themselves in the interviews. I also found that the academic identities they constructed were different from their disciplinary identities, and these differing identities were consistent across analytic contexts. Moreover, the identities the children constructed in the interviews nuanced my understandings of what I observed in the classroom in significant ways. I argue that juxtaposing narrated and performed analytical contexts offers affordances for understanding academic and disciplinary identities constructions in school and science. Moreover, it is important both to listen to children's stories about their experiences in addition to observing their ways of being in the classroom to fully understand their experiences of school and science. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 96:457–487, 2012

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Young African American children's representations of self, science, and school: Making sense of difference

Abstract: ABSTRACT:We focused on young, low-income, African American children in first-to third-grade classrooms where they experienced varied forms of interactive, participatory,

Cited by 38 publications

References 43 publications

“life's first need is for us to be realistic” and other reasons for examining the sociocultural construction of race in the science performance of African American students

“life's first need is for us to be realistic” and other reasons for examining the sociocultural construction of race in the science performance of African American students

Content Learning and Identity Construction: A Framework to Strengthen African American Students’ Mathematics and Science Learning in Urban Elementary Schools

Young African American children constructing academic and disciplinary identities in an urban science classroom

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