Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Equitable research: a bridge too far?

  • Forum
  • Published:
Cultural Studies of Science Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper is written in response to Angela Chapman and Allan Feldman’s research study, “Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school”. I utilize this forum piece to extend the call for “awakening a dialogue” that critically assesses the effectiveness of current K-12 science education research in addressing the needs of populations of color. I take the opportunity to first discuss elements of what an equitable research focus might look like. I finish by critiquing and ultimately commending the authors on the degree to which they succeed in demonstrating an equitable approach to the design and carrying out of their study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. doi:10.2307/2074573.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlone, H., & Johnson, A. (2007). Understanding the science experiences of successful women of color: Science identity as an analytic lens. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 1187–1218. doi:10.1002/tea.20237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Census, race and science [Editorial]. (2000, February). Nature Genetics, 24, 97–98. doi:10.1038/72884.

  • Chapman, A., & Feldman, A. (2016). Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school classroom. Cultural Studies of Science Education. doi:10.1007/s11422-015-9723-3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colby, S. L., & Ortman, J. M. (2014). Projections of the size and composition of the US population: 2014–2060, Current Population Reports, P25-1143. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emirbayer, M., & Desmond, M. (2012). Race and Reflexivity. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 35, 574–599. doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.606910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gentles, S. J., Jack, S. M., Nicholas, D. B., & McKibbon, K. A. (2014). A critical approach to reflexivity in grounded theory. The Qualitative Report, 19, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, L., Brown-Jeffy, S., Aronson, R., & Stephens, C. (2011). Critical race theory as theoretical framework and analysis tool for population health research. Critical Public Health, 21, 81–93. doi:10.1080/09581596.2010.493173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerra, A., & Rezende, F. (2016). Sociocultural influences on science and on science identities. Cultural Studies of Science Education. doi:10.1007/s11422-016-9771-3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. doi:10.3102/00028312032003465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maton, K. (2003). Reflexivity, relationism, & research: Pierre Bourdieu and the epistemic conditions of social scientific knowledge. Space and Culture, 6, 52–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newton, B. J., Rothlingova, Z., Gutteridge, R., LeMarchand, K., & Raphael, J. H. (2011). No room for reflexivity? Critical reflections following a systematic review of qualitative research. Journal of Health Psychology, 17, 866–885. doi:10.1177/1359105311427615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walls, L. (2012). Third grade African American students’ views of the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49, 1–37. doi:10.1002/tea.20450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walls, L. (2015). Awakening a dialogue: A critical race theory analysis of US nature of science research from 1967 to 2013. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, (online version June 2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.21266.

  • Yudell, M., Roberts, D., DeSalle, R., & Tishkoff, S. (2016). Taking race out of human genetics. Science, 351, 564–565. doi:10.1126/science.aac4951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, University of Vermont, 85 S. Prospect St, Burlington, VT, USA

    Leon Walls

Authors
  1. Leon Walls
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leon Walls.

Additional information

Lead Editor: F. Rezende.

This forum paper is a response to Angela Chapman and Allan Feldman’s article Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school. doi:10.1007/s11422-015-9723-3.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Walls, L. Equitable research: a bridge too far?. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 12, 493–503 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-016-9770-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-016-9770-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation