This paper focuses on data from a study of middle- to upper-middle class Scottish S2 ([approximately]seventh grade) students who participated in Inspiring Purpose, a school-based character development program, during the 2016 to 2017 school year. Directed by their teachers, participating youth reflected on values and future aspirations and…

With the popularity of robotics education, attention has been drawn to students' perceptions of robots. This study provides a framework to understand students' imagination about and perceptions of robots from four dimensions of robot identity--nature, social, emotional, and evolutionary. We applied the framework on 80 literary products generated…

The purpose of this study is to determine Turkish and refugee middle school students' views on their national belonging. The study employed the qualitative research approach aligned with the purpose; semi-structured interviews were conducted with Turkish and refugee students. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Results showed…

The concept of a learner's identity in mathematics is complex and multifaceted. Based on a review of the relevant research, the authors believe most factors that influence one's mathematical identity fall within these four categories: (1) past mathematics experiences; (2) personal beliefs and efficacy; (3) future self-representation and belonging;…

Students' science identity has been identified as an important construct that positively influences their learning engagement, persistence, and career intentions in science. This paper reported the process of developing and validating an instrument that can be used to assess high school students' science identity. The development of this…

Recent trends in developmental psychology and developmental systems theory have opened child career development learning (CCDL) to new perspectives. This study adopts a Systems of Influences perspective with the aim of highlighting the development of systems of influences characterising students attending an Italian primary and middle school. Two…

Many experiences in physical education class focus around competitive activities. Middle school is an important time for students, as they shape their physical identity. Creating a foundation of skill during these activities, may promote a lifetime of future physical behaviors. Therefore, attaining physical skill can create social capital,…

Homeland is generally the land where one person was born and grew up and also it is a broad concept that includes language, history, culture and family ties as well as being the land that a nation freely lives on. Homeland is not only a physical space, but a strong association of cultures, arts assets, and language, religion and common past…

Disengagement is a concept that captures the gradual behavioral, affective, and cognitive distancing from school, and is thus an early indicator of students being at risk for dropout. Based on a social identity framework, we predicted that higher social identification with the class and a positive classroom climate would be associated with lower…

Using data on ninth graders, math teachers, and schools from the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we investigate the following questions: (1) How do ninth graders' perceptions of their math teachers as equitable relate to their math identity at the intersection of adolescents' race and gender? and (2) Do…

This study explores the identities that Grade 8 early French immersion students construct as learners of French within school-based communities of practice. It suggests a model by which metaphors on language learning can be considered a form of narrative used to both elicit and analyze metacognitive representations of their socially situated…

In this article, we explore how children of late elementary to middle school age, from low-income communities in an East-Central metropolitan area of Canada, described their interests in and attitudes toward science in an out-of-school science club program. We used the children's descriptions of emotional engagement to gain insights into the…

Writing and identity development are enhanced when students have opportunities to discuss and write about their lives and concerns. This qualitative study explored sites of possibility for reflective, dialogic pedagogy within middle and high school writing instruction. The context for the study were three rural school districts that were…

Background: To attend to the social production of girls of color in science through the lens of history in person and local contentious practice, we propose a relational and nonrepresentational reading of STEM pathways. We invoke the conceptual lenses of wayfaring, knots, and meshwork to highlight the infinite ways of figuring science and becoming…

Gaps in STEM performance have narrowed over the last 50 years (Leaper et al., 2012; National Science Foundation, 2013). Nonetheless, disparities remain in many STEM fields -- with the largest occurring in the physical sciences, computer science, and engineering (UNESCO, 2012). Although gender gaps in science and math performance have been closing,…