Self-positioning in relation to science: the stories of nine adolescents

Abstract

ABSTRACT While students tend to enjoy their science learning at a young age, as they mature, they tend to distance themselves from science, becoming less motivated to engage with science and holding negative attitudes towards science. In parallel, a career choice in science often begins to develop during early adolescence. To understand how the environment and students’ inner worlds shape the development of their self-positioning in relation to science, this longitudinal study followed nine adolescents, aged 10–14, over 3 years, in and out of school, and created nine individual stories describing these participants’ self-positioning in relation to science, and how these positions changed, from their perspective, over time and contexts. We found some common experiences that played a role in the participants’ self-positioning in relation to science. In several of these experiences, the longitudinal nature of this study became apparent. This study highlights the complexity of adolescents’ self-positioning in relation to science and how these positions change over time.