A MULTI-LEVEL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN, MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS’ SCIENCE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

• Main Author: Wade, Katherine
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University 2017
• Subjects: Science education; Race; Gender
• Online Access: http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/48; http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=mse_diss

This research argues that the lack of African American women in science careers is the result of a nuanced and complicated process and can only be adequately addressed through consideration of multiple levels of discourse. Specifically, a better understanding of macro level discourses that are present in and circulated through schools and work to position African American girls in ways that are outside of science learning is necessary. This research used a critical ethnographic approach to explore the science experiences of African American middle school girls. Data were collected on the macro (school wide), meso (classroom and after school program), and micro (individual) level. Critical discourse analysis was used to explore what macro-level discourses were circulated at the school, how these discourses impacted the seventh grade science class and after school program, and how individual students negotiated these discourses. Results indicated that the privileged Discourses (identities) in the classroom actually worked to position students outside of science and that a focus on accountability, control, and order, with a lack of discourses of authentic engagement in science, led to students equating a science person with a good student.