{"id":179,"date":"2016-07-15T15:46:25","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T19:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/knowinghome\/?post_type=chapter&p=179"},"modified":"2019-06-04T14:52:36","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T18:52:36","slug":"chapter-9","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/knowinghome\/chapter\/chapter-9\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 9 - Changing Students\u2019 Perceptions of Scientists, the Work of Scientists, and Who Does Science","rendered":"Chapter 9 – Changing Students\u2019 Perceptions of Scientists, the Work of Scientists, and Who Does Science"},"content":{"raw":"

<\/a>Gloria Snively<\/em><\/h2>\r\n \r\n

Over the past two decades, several studies have focused on what children imagine scientists to be and do. The outcomes were predictable in many ways. Most children\u2019s drawings and written responses were about white male scientists dressed in white lab coats with protective glasses working alone in laboratory settings. Since the pioneering work of Margaret Mead, investigators have found pervasive, but questionable, preconceived ideas of scientists among all levels of students (Barman, 1997; Bodzin & Gehringer, 2001; Eugster, 2013; Jarvis, as cited in BBC News, 2000; Mead & Metraux, 1957). In all studies, most of the students wrote about white male scientists\u2014a pattern that in large part continues to reflect reality. The author sought to find ways for students to see scientists as individuals in a variety of settings and times, roles, and ethnic backgrounds.<\/p>\r\n

Recognizing that teachers\u2019 impressions of scientists are conveyed in the classroom and affect students in profound but subtle ways, Mosley and Norris (1999) and McDuffie (2001) explored teachers\u2019 perceptions of scientists and how those perceptions might impact student thinking. To address this question, written and pictorial data were collected among practicing and pre-service teachers. The teachers\u2019 drawings extended the longstanding view of scientists as middle aged (71%) and male (84%). About half of the sketches included scientists wearing glasses and 36% with unconventional hairstyles. Over 50% were drawn wearing laboratory coats, 40% of which had pocket protectors; and 48% of drawings showed a very serious or crazed (9%) face. One finding that received little notice elsewhere was solitude. In the drawings, scientists stood alone in an environment surrounded by objects of research (54%) or knowledge (15%); their environments almost never included other people. Scientists were described as \u201cintelligent, hardworking, and theoretical, but also as impersonal, boring, and nerdy. They were generally depicted as stern, older white males with unkempt hair and unfashionable clothes\u201d (p. 18). McDuffie concluded that teachers' stereotypes were the same as that of their students on most significant characteristics; their drawings of scientists did not evolve with professional maturation.<\/p>\r\n

In response to the above findings, Bodzin and Gehringer (2001) used student drawings to determine if a teaching strategy, engaging a female engineer scientist in the classroom could change students\u2019 perceptions of scientists. The post-instructional data revealed a decrease in many stereotypical features after the female scientist visited the classroom. The students\u2019 drawings depicted fewer scientists wearing lab coats and glasses, and there were fewer indications of danger. Also, more female figures were drawn after the instruction. The researchers concluded that exposing girls to female scientists in an elementary school classroom may have a positive influence on their perception of careers for women in the science and engineering fields. It would appear that in many cases, teachers are unintentionally communicating a biased viewpoint and promoting a male-dominated view of science.<\/p>\r\n

A study by Jarvis (2000) of over 4,000 children in Britain and Australia over eight years concluded that the \u201cmad scientist\u201d stereotypes continue to persist, at least among six to eight-year-olds. Alarmingly, this same study also revealed that children of Asian and African-Caribbean descent generally held the same opinions and drew similar drawings as their white peers; \u201cboys never drew women and only very occasionally would a girl draw a female scientist\u2026. It was also rare for a black or Asian student to draw a black or Asian scientist\u201d (p. 2). Such findings lead us to the question: Why do children of diverse ethnic backgrounds rarely envision themselves as pursuing science related careers?<\/p>\r\n

Students\u2019 drawings have continuously been analyzed to explore their impressions of scientists, but the impressions of students regarding Indigenous Science and how IS and WS are different but complementary ways of understanding the world have not. To address this void, this chapter extends the work of those above quoted authors who used student drawings to describe students\u2019 perceptions of scientists. I became interested in this idea and wanted to investigate what effect a classroom inquiry exploring Indigenous Science (IS) would have on students\u2019 perceptions of scientists, the work of scientists, and who does science.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Overview of the Study<\/h2>\r\n

This case study took place within the context of one week in January 2007 for the high school students, and one week in May 2007 for the middle school students. During this time, I took on the dual role of workshop provider and educational researcher. One day was required to collect the pre-workshop data, three days to present the Indigenous Science workshop, and one day to collect post-workshop data. The study was designed to investigate and describe the following before and after instruction:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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