A student who fits in and me: a quantitative study of social performances of identity in university physics

Other conference contribution, 2025

Understanding student participation in science and its interaction with disciplinary culture is essential to promote equal access to science education and careers. Physics, often associated with masculinity, cleverness, and nerdiness, faces inequitable participation based on gender, ethnicity, and social background. This study explores how disciplinary cultures may influence participation by comparing how students see themselves and a student who “fits in”. Identity-related studies, both qualitative and quantitative, provide insights into student identities in physics. Notably, the physics identity model of Hazari et al. builds on Carlone and Johnson's science identity model, incorporating interest, recognition, performance/competence, and sense of belonging. However, there is a need to include dimensions of social performance recognised in qualitative studies to develop robust quantitative models.

Reviewing qualitative literature, we identified five categories of legitimate identity performances in physics education environments: A: Effortless lone genius vs hard collaborative work; B: Not daring to be wrong; C: Motivated by physics in itself; D: Creativity and playfulness E: Nerdiness. This paper examines the extent to which university physics students recognise and engage in these identity performances. Questionnaire data were collected from 430 first-year physics students at six Scandinavian universities. Using descriptive statistics and effect sizes, the study compares students' perceptions of themselves and those who “fit in”.

Results indicate that students recognise identity performances identified in literature but also highlight differences in collaborative work and in interactions with instructors. The study suggests that quantitative measurement of social physics identity performances is feasible, but further research is needed.