How do students form their chemistry identities in the lab and the classroom?

A student’s experience in upper secondary school influences whether they will pursue a career in chemistry. Forming a chemistry identity is critical to this process and is closely linked to the practices and norms that students experience in chemistry lessons. Concerningly, student uptake of chemistry has decreased across many countries; therefore, helping every student develop a positive chemistry identity should be of interest to all chemistry teachers.

The researchers found that students see chemistry taking place in two ‘figured worlds’: the laboratory and the classroom. In some cases, these were also two physically different spaces.

In the focus groups, students reported they liked that chemistry labs were ‘real’ and hands-on. For example, they valued practical activities, such as determining the vitamin C content of a tablet, over simulated practicals they experienced in other science classes, such as simulating a meteor falling in physics.

The students believed that lab work is the essence of chemistry. They reported that in the lab, teachers and learners value curiosity, creativity and co-operation, and place greater emphasis on the process than the result. Students did not view mistakes as being indicative of poor performance in the chemistry lab.

The researchers observed that gender and science capital influenced the roles that students performed in practical actitivies in the lab. Students displaying classical masculinity often took control of lab activities. Those with less science capital performed fewer tasks, and any tasks they did perform were less meaningful, for example announcing the results of the measurements. 

Students reported that they felt pressure to display accurate knowledge in the classroom, in contrast to the celebration of mistakes in the lab. They also viewed the classroom as a place for individual performance instead of co-operation. Although the students reported that lab activities are the essence of chemistry, they believed that performance in the classroom is what determined their standing as a chemistry student.

The researchers identified that the norms and practices of the classroom are valued more than those of the lab. They found that work done in the lab was often the gatekeeper to the formation of a chemistry identity. Students with lower science capital are appointed to less meaningful roles with girls often being appointed to secretarial type roles.