Conclusions Part II: Implications of Identity Research for Upper Secondary Educators

Abstract

This chapter reviews findings from other chapters and applies these lessons to secondary contexts. Non-dominant students face difficulty forming physics identities because of classed, racialized, and gendered notions about “who” can do physics as well as systematic hurdles which serve as gatekeepers. Secondary educators need to actively work against these forces by disrupting norms around gender, cleverness, race, and interest through discussions with their students and other faculty to produce a culture that more readily recognizes non-dominant students as intelligible physicists. There is enormous potential for using identity as a tool to examine how students learn physics and position themselves (and each other) relative to the field. Before launching into a discussion of the implications this collection holds for upper secondary educators, I will first describe my own background and context so that readers can better understand my perspectives.