ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 83 Anna T. Danielsson Doing Physics – Doing Gender An Exploration of Physics Students’ Identity Constitution in the Context of Laboratory Work Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Polhemssalen, Ång- strömlaboratoriet, Lägerhyddsvägen 1, Uppsala, Friday, April 24, 2009 at 10:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Abstract Danielsson, A T. 2009. Doing Physics - Doing Gender. An Exploration of Physics Students' Identity Constitution in the Context of Laboratory Work. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 83. 270 pp. Uppsala. 978-91-554-7454-6. In Sweden today women are greatly under-represented within university physics and the discipline of physics is also symbolically associated with men and masculinity. This motivates in-depth investigations of issues of physics, learning and gender. This thesis explores how physics students' simultaneously constitute the practice of physics as enacted in student and research laboratories and their physicist identities in relation to this practice. In particular, it focuses on how these constitutions can be understood as gendered. Previously, physics education research has often limited 'gender perspective' to focusing on comparisons between man and woman students, whereas this study conceptualises gender as an aspect of social identity constitution. A point of departure for the thesis is the theoretical framework which combines situated learning theory and post-structural gender theory. This framework allows for a simultaneous analysis of how students 'do physics' and 'do gender', thereby making a theoretical contribution to physics education research. In the empirical study twenty-two undergraduate and graduate physics students were inter- viewed about their physics studies, with a particular focus on laboratory work. The analytical outcomes of the study illustrate a wide variety of possible identity constitu- tions and possible ways of constituting the physicist community of practice. For example, the students expressed conflicting interpretations of what are suitable practices in the student laboratory in terms of the value of practical versus analytical skills. The boundaries of the physicist community of practice are constituted in relation to, for example, other disciplines, interdisciplinary practices and a traditional femininity practice. Thus, the thesis demonstrates the complexity in physics students gendered negotiations of what it can mean to be a physi- cist. The ambition of the thesis is further to promote discussions about gender and physics, by engaging readers in critical reflections about the practice of physics, and, thus, to inform the teaching practice of physics. Keywords: Physics, Learning, Higher Education, Science Education, Physics Education, Gender, Situated Learning Anna T Danielsson, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Box 530, Uppsala University, SE-75121 Uppsala, Sweden © Anna T Danielsson 2009 ISSN 1104-2516 ISBN 978-91-554-7454-6 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-98907 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-98907) Printed in Sweden by Geotryckeriet, Uppsala 2009. Distributor: Uppsala University Library, Box 510, SE-751 20 Uppsala www.uu.se, [email protected] Till min familj och mina vänner Contents Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning ...........................................................1 PART I Introducing and Situating the Research CHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................7 1.1 Purpose of the Thesis.........................................................................9 1.2 The Study Context ...........................................................................10 1.3 Structure of the Thesis .....................................................................11 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review .............................................................13 2.1 Introduction......................................................................................13 2.2 Overview of Physics Education Research .......................................13 2.2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................13 2.2.2 Students’ Conceptions...................................................................14 2.2.3 Development of Theories of Learning..........................................16 2.2.4 Contemporary Directions in PER .................................................17 2.2.4.1 Student Epistemology.......................................................17 2.2.4.2 Metacognition...................................................................20 2.2.4.3 Representations.................................................................20 2.2.5 Approaches to Teaching and Curriculum Design ........................21 2.2.6 Learning in the Student Laboratory..............................................22 2.2.7 Summary of Physics Education Research Overview...................23 2.3 Physics Education Research Exploring Gender Issues....................24 2.3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................24 2.3.2 Summary of Findings....................................................................25 2.3.2.1 Comparisons of Man and Woman Students .....................26 2.3.2.2 Classroom Practices..........................................................27 2.3.2.3 Textbooks and Tests .........................................................28 2.3.2.4 Teachers’ Attitudes and Knowledge.................................29 2.3.2.5 Critical Perspectives in Physics Education Research .......30 2.3.2.6 Another View of Physics Education and Gender .............30 2.4 Gender and Science and Technology Education..............................31 2.4.1 A Brief Historical Perspective ......................................................31 2.4.2 Some Contemporary Approaches.................................................32 2.5 Situating of my Study ......................................................................35 PART II Conceptual Framework Introduction to Part II....................................................................................41 CHAPTER 3 Theoretical Staging...........................................................44 Structure of the Chapter ...........................................................................44 3.1 Situated Learning Theory ................................................................44 3.1.1 Situated Learning Theory and Gender..........................................47 3.1.2 Situated Learning Theory and Issues of Power............................50 3.2 Post-Structural Gender Theory ........................................................52 3.2.1 Masculinities and Femininities as Communities of Practice .......55 3.3 Concluding Remarks........................................................................57 CHAPTER 4 Theoretical Framework.....................................................59 4.1 Introduction......................................................................................59 4.2 Structure of the Chapter...................................................................60 4.3 The Practice of Physics....................................................................60 4.3.1 Meaning.........................................................................................62 4.3.2 Communities and Boundaries.......................................................63 4.4 Identity in Practice – Doing Masculinities and Femininities in Physics .............................................................................................65 4.5 Participation and Non-Participation.................................................69 4.6 Modes of Belonging.........................................................................71 4.7 Identification and Negotiability .......................................................72 4.8 Concluding remarks.........................................................................73 CHAPTER 5 Analytical Tools ...............................................................74 5.1 Introduction......................................................................................74 5.2 Discourse Models ............................................................................75 5.3 Positioning .......................................................................................78 5.4 Concluding Remarks........................................................................80 CHAPTER 6 Methodological considerations.........................................81 6.1 Introduction......................................................................................81 6.2 Data Collection ................................................................................81 6.2.1 The Qualitative Research Interview .............................................82 6.2.2 My interviews................................................................................84 6.2.3 Transcription and Translation .......................................................87 6.3 Trustworthiness................................................................................89 6.3.1 Credibility......................................................................................89 6.3.2 Dependability