Investigating Physics Self-Belief of Female African-American Students
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CarriEve Horna [1] ; AJ Richards [1]
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[1] College of New Jersey
College of New Jersey
Township of Ewing, Estados Unidos
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- Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 56, Nº. 7, 2018, págs. 448-451
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
Female African Americans comprise an underrepresented group in physics-focused careers. Between 2002 and 2012 African-American women comprised approximately 1% of graduating physics majors in the United States.1 It appears that at some point in their educational careers, many female African-American students stop considering the field of physics as being a viable or attractive option. One approach to garnering a greater understanding of this phenomenon is to specifically look into the impact of their self-belief; this encompasses students’ attitudes, self-concept, and self-efficacy. Self-concept refers to how one views one’s own strengths and weaknesses, while self-efficacy refers to one’s capacity to believe in one’s own abilities to succeed in specific situations. There does not yet exist a large body of research that specifically concentrates on middle and high school-aged female African Americans, low physics representation, and its connection to self-belief related to physics. In this instance, the question is: “Do these students believe they can succeed in physics?” This research investigates the levels of physics self-belief of female African Americans who are enrolled in middle and high school physics.
