Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.14697/jkase.2021.41.3.267

Understanding and Applicability of Identity-in-practice Theory  

Kim, Jong-Uk (Seoul National University)
Kim, Chan-Jong (Seoul National University)
Publication Information
Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education / v.41, no.3, 2021 , pp. 267-281 More about this Journal
Abstract
The shift in the perspective on learning as participation draws attention to learners' identity work. This manuscript foregrounds the ongoing and fluid processes of identity, and focuses on the structure surrounding learners where identity work occurs and the expression of individual agency. From the perspective of learning as participation, we introduce Holland et al. (1998) identity-in-practice theory, as the theoretical lens that dialectically describes structure, agency and identity. The concepts representing this theory are 'figured world', 'positionality' and 'authoring self'. The figured world is a web of meaning encompassing the continuous construct/reconstruct through human actions and also exerts as the social force that shapes human actions. 'Positionality' on the other hand, means an understanding of one's social position in the world. The notion of 'authoring self', is a dimension that synthesizes the above two concepts, which describes the improvisation of one's self through the orchestration and collaboration of various social voices. Next, we analyzed and described various cases of this theory that we found within the scope of science education. However, due to the nature of this theory, which takes a sociocultural approach, international research studies cannot be simply applied to the Korean context. Therefore, we sought to expand the applicability of this theory as a methodological tool, by discussing the directions in which this theory can be used in a domestic context. It is intended that the introduction of this theory, which emphasizes multi-layered, continuous and cumulative identity work, will be used as a resource to further expand the horizon of science education reform that is required for the times.
Keywords
identity-in-practice; structure; agency; participation; figured world; authoring self;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Barton, A. C., Kang, H., Tan, E., O'Neil, T. B., Bautista-Guerra, J., & Brecklin, C. (2013). Crafting a future in science: Tracing middle school girls' identity work over time and space. American Educational Research Journal, 50(1), 37-75.   DOI
2 Carlone, H. B., Scott, C. M., & Lowder, C. (2014). Becoming (less) scientific: A longitudinal study of students' identity work from elementary to middle school science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(7), 836-869.   DOI
3 Asimaki, A., & Koustourakis, G. (2014). Habitus: An attempt at a thorough analysis of a controversial concept in Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice. Social Sciences, 3(4), 121-131.   DOI
4 Bourdieu, P. (1996). The rules of art: Genesis and structure of the literary field. Stanford University Press.
5 Varelas, M., Tucker-Raymond, E., & Richards, K. (2015). A structure-agency perspective on young children's engagement in school science: Carlos's performance and narrative. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(4), 516-529.   DOI
6 Bang, M., & Marin, A. (2015). Nature-culture constructs in science learning: Human/non-human agency and intentionality. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(4), 530-544.   DOI
7 Barton, A. C., & Tan, E. (2010). We be burnin'! Agency, identity, and science learning. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 19(2), 187-229.   DOI
8 Barton, A. C. & Tan, E. (2020). Beyond equity as inclusion: A framework of "Rightful Presence" for guiding justice-oriented studies in teaching and learning. Educational Researcher, 49(6), 433-440.   DOI
9 Bourdieu, P. (1990). The logic of practice. Stanford University Press.
10 Buxton, C. A., Allexsaht-Snider, M., Kayumova, S., Aghasaleh, R., Choi, Y. J., & Cohen, A. (2015). Teacher agency and professional learning: Rethinking fidelity of implementation as multiplicities of enactment. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(4), 489-502.   DOI
11 Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company.
12 Carlone, H. B. (2012). Methodological considerations for studying identities in school science: An anthropological approach. In M. Varelas (Ed.), Identity construction and science education research (pp. 7-25). Sense Publishers.
13 Carlone, H. B., Huffling, L. D., Tomasek, T., Hegedus, T. A., Matthews, C. E., Allen, M. H., & Ash, M. C. (2015). 'Unthinkable' selves: Identity boundary work in a summer field ecology enrichment program for diverse youth. International Journal of Science Education, 37(10), 1524-1546.   DOI
14 Choi, S. Y. & Lee, C. (2017). A study on the development of elementary school mathematics program with a focus on social issues for the mathematically gifted and talented students for fostering democratic citizenship. Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea, 21(3), 415-441.
15 Gonsalves, A. J., Silfver, E., Danielsson, A., & Berge, M. (2019). "It's not my dream, actually": students' identity work across figured worlds of construction engineering in Sweden. International Journal of STEM education, 6(1), 1-17.   DOI
16 Ho, D. Y. F., Peng, S. Q., & Chan, S. F. F. (2001). Authority and learning in Confucian-heritage education. In C. Chiu, F. Salili, & Y. Hong (Eds.), Multiple competencies and self-regulated learning: Implications for multicultural education (pp. 29-48). Information Age Publishing Inc..
17 Inden, R. (1990). Imagining India. Blackwell.
18 Lemke, J. L. (2001). Articulating communities: Sociocultural perspectives on science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(3), 296-316.   DOI
19 Avraamidou, L. (2019). Stories we live, identities we build: how are elementary teachers' science identities shaped by their lived experiences?. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 14(1), 33-59.   DOI
20 Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. University of texas Press.
21 Kane, J. M. (2016). Young African American boys narrating identities in science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(1), 95-118.   DOI
22 Kang, D. Y. & Martin, N, S. (2018). Understanding structures preventing teachers from supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students in science learning. Korean Association For Learner-Centered Curriculum And Instruction, 18(8), 563-592.   DOI
23 Kim, H., Kang, E, & Kim, H., -B. (2015). Expression of students' agency in an elementary school science class: A focus on teaching and learning contexts. Biology Education, 43(3), 289-301.   DOI
24 Kim, J. H. (2016). Cultural sociology and the problem of practice: Focusing on the practical turn. Korean Journal of Cultural Sociology, 20, 289-336.   DOI
25 Jang, W., You, I., Min, S. W., Jung, M. H., & Hong, H., -G. (2020). Science education in the perspective of 'The Stranger': An autobiographic narrative inquiry of pre-service science teacher who entered graduate school in order to complete the course of teaching. The Korean Society for School, 14(2), 209-226.
26 Korean Educational Statistics Service (2018). Students from multicultural family. Retrieved April 29 2020 from https://kess.kedi.re.kr/index
27 Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
28 Lee. M. (2020). Critical analysis of issues surrounding the reform of the university entrance system. Journal of Korean Social Trend and Perspective, 108, 9-45.
29 Harris, E. M., & Ballard, H. L. (2021). Examining student environmental science agency across school science contexts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 1-29.
30 Lee, J. -H.. & Hong, H. -G. (2019). A narrative inquiry on the experience of high school entrance examination by students of science-gifted education institute affiliated with university. The Journal of Anthropology of Education, 22(2), 93-128.   DOI
31 Lim, M., & Kim, J. (2016). The figured world of diversity: Korean preschool teachers beliefs about multicultural education. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 22(2), 59-77.
32 Mehan, H. (1979). Learning lessons: Social organization in the classroom. Havard University Press.
33 Shanahan, M. C. (2009) Identity in science learning: Exploring the attention given to agency and structure in studies of identity. Studies in Science Education, 45(1), 43-64.   DOI
34 Sewell, W. (1992) A theory of structure: Duality, agency, and transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 98(1), 1-29.   DOI
35 Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational researcher, 27(2), 4-13.   DOI
36 Sfard, A., & Prusak, A. (2005). Telling identities: In search of a tool for investigating learning as a culturally shaped. Educational Researcher, 34(4), 14-22.   DOI
37 Sim, S., H. (2019). Understanding of social studies classroom identity: Focused on low-experienced teacher. [Master thesis, Seoul National University]. Research Information Sharing Service.
38 Tan, E., & Barton, A. C. (2008). Unpacking science for all through the lens of identities-in-practice: The stories of Amelia and Ginny. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 3, 43-71.   DOI
39 Turner, J. H. (2013). Contemporary sociological theory. SAGE Publication.
40 Urrieta, L. (2007). Figured worlds and education: An introduction to the special issue. The Urban Review, 39(2), 107-116.   DOI
41 Varelas, M., Settlage, J., & Mensah, F. M. (2015). Explorations of the structure-agency dialectic as a tool for framing equity in science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(4), 439-447.   DOI
42 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
43 Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
44 Carlone, H. B., Haun-Frank, J., & Webb, A. (2011). Assessing equity beyond knowledge-and skills-based outcomes: A comparative ethnography of two fourth-grade reform-based science classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(5), 459-485.   DOI
45 Basu, S. J., Barton, A. C., Clairmont, N., & Locke, D. (2009). Developing a framework for critical science agency through case study in a conceptual physics context. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 4, 345-371.   DOI
46 Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Harvard University Press.
47 Chung, K. (2010). The figured world of globalization and cosmopolitanism and Korean temporary migrant parents' practices of their children's language education. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 16(1), 31-52.
48 Danielsson, A. T., Engstrom, S., Norstrom, P. & Andersson, K. (2020). The making of contemporary physicists: Figured worlds in the university quantum mechanics classroom. Research in Science Education, 1-12.   DOI
49 Elmesky, R. (2011). Rap as a roadway: Creating creolized forms of science in an era of cultural globalization. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(1), 49-76.   DOI
50 Chung, S. H., Bae, J. -H. (2017). Contemplation on social historical significance of Korean entrance exam education. East Asian Humanities Society, 41, 449-476.
51 Johnson, A., Brown, J., Carlone, H., & Cuevas, A. K. (2011). Authoring identity amidst the treacherous terrain of science: A multiracial feminist examination of the journeys of three women of color in science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(4), 339-366.   DOI
52 Fu, G., & Clarke, A. (2018). Individual and collective agencies in China's curriculum reform: A case of physics teachers. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56(1), 45-63.   DOI
53 Gonsalves, A., Rahm, J., & Carvalho, A. (2013). "We could think of things that could be science": Girls' re-figuring of science in an out-of-school- time club. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(9), 1068-1097.   DOI
54 Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure, and contradiction in social analysis. University of California Press.
55 Kim, D. I. (2016). Pierre Bourdieu. Communication Books.
56 National Institute of Korean Language. (2000). Pyojun gugeo daesajeon. Retrieved from https://dict.naver.com/
57 Ha, H. (2014). Critical discussion on practice turn in social theory: Focusing on Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu. The Korean Sociological Association, 48(1), 205-233.
58 Hatt, B. (2007). Street smarts vs. book smarts: The figured world of smartness in the lives of marginalized, urban youth. The Urban Review, 39(2), 145-166.   DOI
59 Holland, D. C., Lachicotte Jr., W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds. Harvard University Press.
60 Jackson, P. A., & Seiler, G. (2013). Science identity trajectories of latecomers to science in college. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(7), 826-857.   DOI
61 Kim, J. -U. (2021). Exploring elementary school students' climate activist identity in practice in an action-oriented climate change activity. [Doctoral dissertation, Seoul National University]. RISS.
62 Lee, J. -A, & Kim, C. -J. (2019). Teaching and learning science in authoritative classrooms: Teachers' power and students' approval in Korean elementary classrooms. Research in Science Education, 49(5), 1367-1393.   DOI
63 Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.
64 Lee, M. & Kim, H. -B. (2014). Funds of knowledge and features of teaching and learning in the hybrid space of middle school science class: Focus on 7th grade biology. Journal of The Korean Association For Research In Science Education, 34(8), 731-744.   DOI
65 Rodriguez, A. J. (2015). Managing institutional and sociocultural challenges through sociotransformative constructivism: A longitudinal case study of a high school science teacher. Journal of research in science teaching, 52(4), 448-460.   DOI
66 Maftoon, P., & Shakouri, N. (2012). The concept of power in teacher talk: A critical discourse analysis. World Applied Sciences Journal, 19(8), 1208-1215.
67 Rahm, J., & Moore, J. C. (2016). A case study of long-term engagement and identity-in-practice: Insights into the STEM pathways of four underrepresented youths. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(5), 768-801.   DOI
68 Rivera Maulucci, M. S., Brotman, J. S., & Fain, S. S. (2015). Fostering structurally transformative teacher agency through science professional development. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(4), 545-559.   DOI
69 Ryu, M. (2015). Positionings of racial, ethnic, and linguistic minority students in high school biology class: Implications for science education in diverse classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(3), 347-370.   DOI
70 In. (1984). Oxford English-Korean dictionary. Retrieved from https://dict.naver.com/