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Title: Middle schoolers’ trajectories of identification and wayfaring through a pet science workshop
Based on the widely recognized situated nature of identity and youth as social producers and products, this qualitative case study reports findings from a week-long informal pet-sciences workshop for middle schoolers who have existing relationships with pets or a strong interest in future pet companionship. Mindful of the structure-agency dialectic, we analyze youth’s wayfaring and trajectories of identification as they learn about their pets at the workshop, accounting for how youth see themselves and their pets and are seen by others. In contrast to a commonly assumed analytic directionality seeing people as moving towards or away from STEM, we find that there were different ways for youth to meaningfully engage themselves in learning about their pets at the workshop. We conclude that attention to fluidity in youth’s identifications can inform us, the adults in the community, of the need to affirm the many possible trajectories that youth may follow.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1736051
PAR ID:
10475706
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Editor(s):
Blikstein, P.
Publisher / Repository:
International Society of the Learning Sciences
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences
ISBN:
978-1-7373306-7-7
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
Montreal
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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