The Science Identity of College Students: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Article
Hazari, Z, Sadler, PM, Sonnert, G. (2013). The Science Identity of College Students: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
. 42(5), 82-91. 10.2505/4/jcst13_042_05_82
Hazari, Z, Sadler, PM, Sonnert, G. (2013). The Science Identity of College Students: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
. 42(5), 82-91. 10.2505/4/jcst13_042_05_82
This study explores students’ self-perceptions across science subjects (biology, chemistry, and physics) by gender and underrepresented minority group membership. The data are drawn from the Persistence Research in Science and Engineering (PRiSE) project, which surveyed 7,505 students (enrolled in college English courses required for all majors) from 40 colleges and universities across the United States about their backgrounds, high school science experiences, and science attitudes. We compared the responses for three focal items on the PRiSE survey that asked students: “Do you see yourself as a biology/chemistry/physics person?” The results indicate that students’ overall self-perceptions toward science are less than ideal. For many students in college, even those pursuing science-related careers, frequencies fell well below the midpoint of the scale. Consistent with other research, females had significantly lower self-perceptions toward physics, and Hispanic females tended to be the most disempowered in their views of themselves with respect to science.
