Abstract
Educational researchers have explored the importance of performance, recognition, and interest in establishing and maintaining a STEM identity. Research has also demonstrated that the ways students describe themselves and how they participate in STEM communities can provide insight into their role identity salience; however, there has been little work to explore the ontological beliefs of students about STEM people and how this influences their ability to see themselves as possessing a STEM identity. This research explores the ontological beliefs of high school students, with specific attention to the ways in which they describe what constitutes a math person, science person, physics person, or engineer and how these descriptions influence their ability to take on these role identities.
Recommended Citation
Verdín, D.,
Godwin, A.,
&
Ross, M.
(2018).
STEM Roles: How Students’ Ontological Perspectives Facilitate STEM Identities.
Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 8(2), Article 4.
https://doi.org/10.7771/2157-9288.1167
