How the home environment shapes students’ perceptions of their abilities: the relation between chemistry capital at home and students’ chemistry self-concept

ABSTRACT

Participation in science is unevenly distributed among secondary school students, depending on gender, social class, and ethnicity. In the present study, the influence of the home environment on students’ chemistry self-concept is investigated as a factor for explaining participation in science. For this, the sociological lens of chemistry capital is employed. A mixed methods study (N=48) was conducted using quantitative data about self-concept and related variables (need for cognition, incremental theory, perception of language) and qualitative interview data on chemistry capital. The data suggest that chemistry self-concept is not related to chemistry capital in quantitative terms. However, the investigation of the qualitative dimensions suggests that chemistry capital in the home environment might change the frame of reference against the backdrop of which students interpret their abilities. We propose the interpretation that students compare their abilities in chemistry with significant others at home. If parents possess chemistry capital, this might lead to more negative evaluations of their abilities which can be counterbalanced by comparisons with classmates. If parents do not possess chemistry capital, the students might perceive themselves as more competent. Further investigations are needed to test this hypothesis. The results and the integrative mixed method approach will be discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Chemistry capital
• science capital
• chemistry education
• self-concept
• learning goal orientations
• language
• secondary school
• Bourdieu
• frame of reference

Acknowledgments

This work was funded partly by the Research Development and Support Centre at Ludwigsburg University of Education. We would like to thank Louise Archer, Jennifer DeWitt, and their research group for the discussions about science capital, an exchange made possible by the ESERA 2019 travel award the first author was presented with.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Lilith Rüschenpöhler is a Ph.D. student in chemistry education at Ludwigsburg University of Education, Germany. She is interested in the impact of the cultural and social context on chemistry learning, and in particular on chemistry self-concept. Before her time in Ludwigsburg, she developed and tested a culture-sensitive chemistry teaching approach for refugee students.

Silvija Markic is a professor for science education (major: chemistry education) at Ludwigsburg University of Education in Germany. Her research focuses on linguistic heterogeneity and cultural diversity in chemistry and science education, science teachers’ continuous professional development based on their beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge, pedagogical scientific language knowledge, and alternative teaching approaches.

Notes

1 The expected age range of students in grades 8–10 is of 13–17 years. However, grade repeating is still common practice for low achieving students in the part of Germany where the study was conducted. The students who are 18 years old had probably repeated a grade.

2 The concept of migration background was used as defined in the official census in Germany (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2013). Having a migration background depends on a person’s individual migration history and on those of his or her parents.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Research Development and Support Centre at Ludwigsburg University of Education.