NDLI: Student trajectories in physics: the need for analysis through a socio-cultural lens

Please wait, while we are loading the content...

Student trajectories in physics: the need for analysis through a socio-cultural lens

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Zapata, Mara
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	An analysis of student connections through time and space relative to the core discipline of physics is attempted, as viewed through the lens of actor-network-theory, by Antonia Candela. Using lenses of cultural realities, networks, and perceived power in the discourse of one specific university in the capital city of Mexico and one undergraduate physics classroom, the trajectories and itineraries of students are analyzed, relative to a physics professor’s pedagogical practices. This ethnographic study then yields comparisons between Mexican undergraduate students and students from the United States. Actor network theory recognizes that the symbiotic relationship existing between an actor and a continuum of space and time is defined by the symbiotic yet interdependent relationships and networks of practice (Lemke in Downward causation: Minds, bodies, and matter 2000). As part of this study and in line with actor-network-theory, human actors and non-human participants were viewed in relation to how subjects acted and were acted upon within networks of practice. Through this forum I reflect on this work with particular focus on the issues of situatedness of actors from a sociocultural perspective and how established networks viewed within this perspective frame and subsequently impact student trajectories and itineraries. In essence I argue for a need to look at a myriad of further complexities driving the symbiotic relationships being analyzed.Crear sentido y comprender el fenómeno socio-cultural que ocurre en la educación requiere descifrar las complejidades implícitas, reconociendo que lo obvio; lo que en la superficie aparece como simple, no es suficiente. Desde este punto de vista yo planteo la necesidad de identíficar lo que promueve la relación simbiótica que se presenta en el vínculo entre estudiantes en un programa de estudio universitario, y considero la necesidad de analizar estas complejidades para entender el significado inherente que contienen. Como resultado de mi reflexión sobre el artículo de Antonia Candela, titulado Tiempo y Espacio: Fisica en Movimiento, me refiero a la necesidad de ser más explícita en cuanto a los matices culturales que contibuyen a lo que ella estudia. El contexto en el cual se desarrolla este estudio presenta la unicidad cultural inherente en una realidad socio-política, y contribuye en gran parte a la trayectoría de los estudiantes que se describe en este estudio etnográfico. Este artículo presenta realidades culturales, redes y hasta percepciones de poder que establecen los estudiantes todavía no licenciados de física, en México, sin aclarar suficientemente su contexto. Candela intenta un interesante análisis sobre las conexiones de estudiantes a través del tiempo y espacio, relativo a la disciplina básica de la física, utilizando la teoría del actor-red. Yo afirmo que las normas culturales tácitas y la clase social de origen, definen el acceso de estudiantes a actividades y personas, es decir, que su capital cultural y social determina sus oportunidades durante su tránsito por el tiempo y el espacio de las trayectorías que se estudian en el artículo. La comparación entre estudiantes no licenciados de México y de los Estados Unidos es otra oportunidad para descifrar y hacer explícitos estos matices culturales. La teoría del actor-red reconoce que la relación que existe entre el “actor” y un continuo de espacio y tiempo se define por las simbióticas pero interdependientes relaciones y redes de práctica (Lemke in Downward causation: Minds, bodies, and matter 2000). Toda red de práctica está enmarcada en un contexto de complejidades y las legítimas comparaciones pueden contribuir al proceso de descifrarlas. Este estudio utiliza la teoría del actor-red, reconociendo tanto a los participantes humanos como tambien los no humanos, es decir, las estructuras que definen redes de practica. Estas estructuras se analizan en relación a cómo los sujetos actúan entre estas redes y como estas redes, accesibles o no, determinan esa practica. Esto es complejo y da apoyo a el argumento que se requiere descifrar estas complejidades para entender lo que en realidad ocurre determinando la trayectoria de estudiantes. En particular es importante reconocer que todos los estudiantes no están posicionados igualmente desde un punto de vista socio-cultural. Esta posición en la cual se encuentran los actores establece la manera en que las redes a su alcance en realidad determinan su trayectoría e itinerarios.
Starting Page	729
Ending Page	734
Page Count	6
File Format	PDF
ISSN	18711502
Journal	Cultural Studies of Science Education
Volume Number	5
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	18711510
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2010-03-30
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Cultural capital Socio-cultural theory Actor network theory Social tools Situated learning Sociology of Education Science Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Cultural Studies

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Learning about a fish from an ANT: actor network theory and science education in the postgenomic era

Examining the Value of Social Capital and Social Support for Black Student-Athletes’ Academic Success

Time and space: undergraduate Mexican physics in motion

Objects, Words, and Bodies in Space: Bringing Materiality into Cultural Analysis

Beware of Allies! : Notes on Analytical Hygiene in Actor-Network Account-making

Re-imagining Civil Society in Contemporary Urban China: Actor-Network-Theory and Chinese Independent Film Consumption

Embedding the “Black Box”: A reformulated social capital theory for the exploration of socio-physical linkages

Actor-Network Theory and the ethnographic imagination: An exercise in translation

Beyond the Head: The Practical Work of Curating Contemporary Art

Student trajectories in physics: the need for analysis through a socio-cultural lens

Similar Documents

Learning about a fish from an ANT: actor network theory and science education in the postgenomic era

Examining the Value of Social Capital and Social Support for Black Student-Athletes’ Academic Success

Time and space: undergraduate Mexican physics in motion

Objects, Words, and Bodies in Space: Bringing Materiality into Cultural Analysis

Beware of Allies! : Notes on Analytical Hygiene in Actor-Network Account-making

Re-imagining Civil Society in Contemporary Urban China: Actor-Network-Theory and Chinese Independent Film Consumption

Embedding the “Black Box”: A reformulated social capital theory for the exploration of socio-physical linkages

Actor-Network Theory and the ethnographic imagination: An exercise in translation

Beyond the Head: The Practical Work of Curating Contemporary Art

Student trajectories in physics: the need for analysis through a socio-cultural lens