Abstract:
Understanding who chooses to progress in science education is an important issue
across the world. Not only are governments motivated to boost the number of
skilled workers in STEM domains, but efforts are also being made to ensure that
science is viewed as a viable pathway for all students, regardless of their gender,
ethnicity, or social class. Despite these efforts, inequities continue to persist in
Aotearoa New Zealand, and little research has explored what progression through
science education looks like. The following work seeks to fill this gap by interrogating
a range of data sources regarding students’ experiences in tertiary science
education through a theoretical framework based on the work of Pierre Bourdieu.
Beginning with quantitative analysis of large-scale administrative student
records, I provide a surface-level summary of What science participation looks
like in Aotearoa New Zealand. I then introduce the utility of Bourdieu’s sociological
theory in explaining Why we see disparities in science education. Through
analysis of a questionnaire administered to science students at the University of
Auckland, I discuss the influence of social class on science participation, using
factors related to Bourdieu’s theory that not readily available in administrative
data (such as science-related cultural and social capital). Following this, I build a
new theoretical model, informed by qualitative analysis of interview data, to delve
even deeper into the experiences of university students studying science. Through
this final theoretical model, I explore students’ lived experiences in the field of
science education, and provide a discussion of How we can make the field of science
education more equitable. By adopting a truly mixed-methods approach to
understanding participation in science education, my thesis offers a comprehensive,
transdisciplinary exploration of tertiary science education in Aotearoa New
Zealand. Through this approach, I show how progression in science may be a path
drawn out for some students, but not all.