Science Achievement Gaps Dissected in Chapter Authored by St. Mary's College of Maryland Professor

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD (09/06/2012)(readMedia)-- St. Mary's College of Maryland Associate Professor of Educational Studies and Portales native, Angela Johnson has written "Consequential Validity and Science Identity Research," a chapter in the recently edited volume of Sense Publishers' "Identity Construction and Science Education Research: Learning, Teaching, and Being in Multiple Contexts." The book contributes to the growing scholarship that seeks to problematize various dominant views regarding what counts as science and scientific competence.

In this edited volume, science education scholars engage with participants ranging from first graders to pre-service and in-service teachers to physics doctoral students, to show ways in which identity work is vital, yet an underemphasized dimension of learning and participating in science in, and out of, academic institutions. The research in this book mostly concerns students or teachers with racial, ethno-linguistic, class, academic status, and gender affiliations that have been long excluded from, or underrepresented in, scientific practice, science fields, and science-related professions, and linked with science achievement gaps.

Angela Johnson, 1983 graduate of Portales High School, is associate professor of Educational Studies at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Johnson's research uses feminist, anthropological approaches in the study of girls and women of color in science. A former high school physics teacher, she has authored and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters on the experiences of women of color in predominantly White science contexts and on other issues involving equity and excellence in science and science education.

"Identity Construction and Science Education Research" is available through www.sensepublishers.com.

###

St. Mary's College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. More than 2,000 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary's River in Southern Maryland.