• Open Access

Introductory physics students’ recognition of strong peers: Gender and racial or ethnic bias differ by course level and context

Meagan Sundstrom, Ashley B. Heim, Barum Park, and N. G. Holmes
Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 020148 – Published 23 December 2022
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Researchers have pinpointed recognition from others as one of the most important dimensions of students’ science and engineering identity. Studies, however, have found gender biases in students’ recognition of their peers, with inconsistent patterns across introductory science and engineering courses. Toward finding the source of this variation, we examine whether a gender bias exists in students’ nominations of strong peers across three different remote, introductory physics courses with varying student populations (varying demographics, majors, and course levels). We also uniquely evaluate possible racial or ethnic biases and probe the relationship between instructional context (whether lecture or laboratory) and recognition. Some of our results replicate previous findings (such as the association of course grade and small class section enrollment with nominations), while others offer contradictions. Comparing across our three courses and the prior work, results suggest that course level (whether first-year students or beyond-first-year students) might be more associated with a gender bias in peer recognition than other variables. Surprisingly, we also find instances of racial or ethnic biases in favor of students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in science. Finally, we find that the nomination patterns differ when students nominate individuals strong in the lecture material versus the laboratory material. This work serves as an important step in determining which courses and contexts exhibit biases in peer recognition, as well as how students’ perceptions of one another form in remote teaching environments.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 8 July 2022
  • Accepted 28 November 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.020148

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics Education Research

Authors & Affiliations

Meagan Sundstrom1,†, Ashley B. Heim2, Barum Park3, and N. G. Holmes1,*

  • 1Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
  • 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
  • 3Department of Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

  • mas899@cornell.edu
  • *Corresponding author. ngholmes@cornell.edu

Article Text

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 18, Iss. 2 — July - December 2022

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Physics Education Research

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×