Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls

In the United States, science capital is important for navigating many aspects of life. Yet during middle school, science interest declines more for girls than boys. It is unclear, however, whether science identity also declines during the middle school years and if there are differences by gender....

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Julia McQuillan, Patricia Wonch Hill, Joseph C. Jochman, Grace M. Kelly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-02-01
Series:Socius
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231152195
_version_ 1797693029486690304
author Julia McQuillan
Patricia Wonch Hill
Joseph C. Jochman
Grace M. Kelly
author_facet Julia McQuillan
Patricia Wonch Hill
Joseph C. Jochman
Grace M. Kelly
author_sort Julia McQuillan
collection DOAJ
description In the United States, science capital is important for navigating many aspects of life. Yet during middle school, science interest declines more for girls than boys. It is unclear, however, whether science identity also declines during the middle school years and if there are differences by gender. The authors advance prior research by modeling changes in science identity and associations with changes in identity-relevant characteristics using growth curve analyses on four waves of data from 760 middle school youth. For girls and boys, science identity changes over time; about 40 percent of the variance is within-person change, with the remainder explained by aggregate between-person differences. The associations of all identity-relevant characteristics with science identity are not significantly different for girls and boys, yet declines in average values of identity-relevant characteristics are larger for girls than boys.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T02:37:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-bb1c588270864076ab4d2807395563d3
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2378-0231
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T02:37:37Z
publishDate 2023-02-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Socius
spelling doaj.art-bb1c588270864076ab4d2807395563d32023-09-04T14:34:13ZengSAGE PublishingSocius2378-02312023-02-01910.1177/23780231231152195Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and GirlsJulia McQuillan0Patricia Wonch Hill1Joseph C. Jochman2Grace M. Kelly3University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USAUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USAUniversity of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USAUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USAIn the United States, science capital is important for navigating many aspects of life. Yet during middle school, science interest declines more for girls than boys. It is unclear, however, whether science identity also declines during the middle school years and if there are differences by gender. The authors advance prior research by modeling changes in science identity and associations with changes in identity-relevant characteristics using growth curve analyses on four waves of data from 760 middle school youth. For girls and boys, science identity changes over time; about 40 percent of the variance is within-person change, with the remainder explained by aggregate between-person differences. The associations of all identity-relevant characteristics with science identity are not significantly different for girls and boys, yet declines in average values of identity-relevant characteristics are larger for girls than boys.https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231152195
spellingShingle Julia McQuillan
Patricia Wonch Hill
Joseph C. Jochman
Grace M. Kelly
Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls
Socius
title Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls
title_full Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls
title_fullStr Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls
title_full_unstemmed Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls
title_short Decline Is Not Inevitable: Changes in Science Identity during the Progression through a U.S. Middle School among Boys and Girls
title_sort decline is not inevitable changes in science identity during the progression through a u s middle school among boys and girls
url https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231152195
work_keys_str_mv AT juliamcquillan declineisnotinevitablechangesinscienceidentityduringtheprogressionthroughausmiddleschoolamongboysandgirls
AT patriciawonchhill declineisnotinevitablechangesinscienceidentityduringtheprogressionthroughausmiddleschoolamongboysandgirls
AT josephcjochman declineisnotinevitablechangesinscienceidentityduringtheprogressionthroughausmiddleschoolamongboysandgirls
AT gracemkelly declineisnotinevitablechangesinscienceidentityduringtheprogressionthroughausmiddleschoolamongboysandgirls