Abstract
More progress is needed to achieve equity in racial and gender representation in the push to diversify the physical sciences. In order to continue moving towards representation and equity, there is a need for more analytic tools that can help us understand where we are and how we got here. This may also enable meaningful systemic change. In this article, we will review two theoretical frameworks: critical race theory (CRT) and feminist standpoint theory (FST). This paper will guide the reader through the historical context in which each theory was formed, present core tenets and major ideas of each theory, along with external critiques to each theory and where they stand today. This will help readers to further understand CRT and FST, what their role is in education, and how they may be used in physics education research. Simultaneously, this article will serve to broaden perspectives of fundamental societal problems such as racism and sexism.Received 1 June 2021Accepted 23 December 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.013101Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasDiversity & inclusionEpistemology, attitudes, & beliefsResearch methodologyPhysics Education Research
Highlights
Physics education research (PER) as a field is growing, with closer examinations being done on the field [1–6]; part of this growth includes a push to conduct research that is more inclusive of gender, race, and LGBT issues [2,7–24]
In this article we have provided a brief yet comprehensive review of critical race theory (CRT) and standpoint theory (SPT) and how they connect and may be used in PER
We started by introducing the broad gender and racial issues that are prevalent in U.S society, including academic settings
Summary
Physics education research (PER) as a field is growing, with closer examinations being done on the field [1–6]; part of this growth includes a push to conduct research that is more inclusive of gender, race, and LGBT issues [2,7–24]. When considering the intersection of race and gender, Women of Color are even less represented, with Black and Hispanic women earning only 11% of bachelor and 8% of doctoral degrees in physics, while making up 6% of physics faculty at universities with physics PhDs [25] Their underrepresentation may not just be about access and opportunity, but may be rooted in structural and cultural barriers that continue to persist in academia and U.S society overall. Racism works to create a racial hierarchy that determines who will get the best jobs, go to the best schools, and be awarded higher levels of social status Changing this system of resource allocation would require changing the economic system (e.g., entrenched poverty among Black and Hispanic families compared to white families) and social situations (e.g., prison and justice system) of underrepresented groups. We believe that the use of CRT and FST is needed to further understand these forms of oppression and tie them to larger issues in U.S society
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