@phdthesis{Rueschenpoehler2020, author = {Lilith R{\"u}schenp{\"o}hler}, title = {Culture-sensitive chemistry self-concept research: The relationship of chemistry self-concept with culture, gender, and chemistry capital}, url = {https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:lg1-opus4-6824}, pages = {197}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In Germany, secondary school students differ greatly in their science achievement, a dispersion that is far above the OECD average (Schiepe-Tiska, R{\"o}nnebeck, \& Neumann, 2019). Immigrant students tend to be at the lower end of the scale in Germany – on average, they achieve substantially less well in science than non-immigrant students (OECD, 2016d), which is partially due to the German school system (Zoido, 2013). These differences in achievement translate into underrepresentation of immigrants in science-related jobs in Germany (OECD, 2008). Achievement and career choices are closely intertwined with academic self-concept (for an overview see Marsh \& Craven, 2006). Regarding science self-concept, the pattern that immigrant students tend to score lower is present in many countries (e.g. Riegle-Crumb, Moore, \& Ramos-Wada, 2011). The goal of the present research project was to investigate these inequalities between immigrant and non-immigrant secondary school students. This was done focusing on secondary school students’ chemistry self-concepts. Chemistry self-concepts were focused on because achievement in chemistry is an important factor for careers in natural sciences (Cohen \& Kelly, 2019). Research on chemistry self-concept has concentrated on young adults (e.g. Bauer, 2005; Xu \& Lewis, 2011) and so little is known about secondary school students. Besides the impact of students’ migration background, the research project analyses the role that gender plays because gender has important effects on science self-concepts (e.g. Jurik, Gr{\"o}schner, \& Seidel, 2013; Riegle-Crumb et al., 2011; Wan \& Lee, 2017). A big challenge in this context was that the prevailing methods in academic self-concept research are prone to yield biased data (Byrne, 2002; Byrne et al., 2009). Although this was pointed out more than 15 years ago, the problem persists in science self-concept research. The present research project addresses this issue and presents a new mixed methods approach to culture-sensitive academic self-concept research. The term ‘culture’ is used in the sense of migration background, a concept that categorizes people’s migration histories in Germany. A combination of qualitative interview data and quantitative data permit an investigation of certain types of bias defined by Byrne and colleagues (2009). The pilot study operated with a chemistry self-concept questionnaire (N=116) and qualitative interviews (N=43). The main study was based on an extended questionnaire comprising several other scales (N=585) and deeper qualitative interviews (N=48). The hypotheses based on the literature were that in Germany, (h1) immigrant students would show more negative chemistry self-concepts than non-immigrant students. (h2) Female students would show more negative chemistry self-concepts than male students. The third hypothesis (h3) was that the home environment has an important impact on students’ chemistry self-concepts. The first two hypotheses (h1 and h2) were not confirmed. Gender and migration background did not show a significant effect on students’ chemistry self-concepts. Instead, gender relations differ depending on the students’ migration background. Among students without a migration background, boys tend to have stronger chemistry self-concepts than girls. In contrast, among students with a Turkish migration background, girls tend to have stronger chemistry self-concepts. Existing science self-concept literature did not explain this. Literature on gender relations in science in Turkey suggests that this interaction effect could be due to a more gender-neutral conception of science in Turkey. Slightly more women than men work in science in Turkey (OECD, 2009a) and girls achieve substantially better (Batyra, 2017a, 2017b). According to the third hypothesis (h3), the gender conceptions in Turkey could potentially be transmitted to students with a Turkish migration background in the home environment, through their parents or other people. Science education literature did not provide a satisfying model for conceptualizing the influence of the home environment on students in the field of chemistry that would allow investigating the third hypothesis (h3). Therefore, the concept of chemistry capital was introduced based on the analysis of the interviews in the main study. Chemistry capital was developed based on the concept of science capital by Archer and colleagues (2015). Chemistry capital conceptualizes the resources a person possesses that have value in the field of chemistry. This encompasses social networks (e.g. knowing a chemist) as well as emotional and cognitive resources (e.g. attitudes towards chemistry and chemistry knowledge), and the engagement in chemistry-related activities. In particular, the concept allows analyzing the transmission processes of chemistry from the home environment to the individual student. The qualitative analyses in the main study showed that the chemistry capital home environment influences the students in the field of chemistry in multiple ways. This supports hypothesis 3 (h3). Further, the data suggest that structural inequalities in the German school system might foster differences in chemistry. Students who already possess little chemistry capital in their home environments are in addition found more often at the type of school (Hauptschule) in which the proportion of chemistry teachers who do not hold a university degree in chemistry is the highest, depriving these students of another possible source of chemistry capital. Vice versa, students who already possess a lot of chemistry capital in their home environments more often attend school types (Gymnasium, Realschule) where also more formally qualified chemistry teachers are available, thus potentially widening the gap. The mixed methods analysis in the main study suggested that a simple linear relationship between student chemistry self-concept and chemistry capital in the home environment does not exist. A study based on quantitative (or mixed methods) analyses of data of a larger sample on chemistry capital in the home environment and students’ chemistry self-concepts could provide further insights. It is not yet clear if the third hypothesis (h3) is true. To sum up, the present research project thus advances the field of chemistry education in three regards: (i) it provides an approach to culture-sensitive academic self-concept. This approach proved to increase both the validity and the explanatory power of chemistry self-concept research. It is not chemistry-specific and can, thus, be used in other areas of research as well. (ii) The research discovered an interaction effect of gender and migration background on chemistry self-concept that was unknown in science education literature. (iii) It introduces and defines the concept of chemistry capital which permits to analyze chemistry education from a sociocultural perspective. Employing the concept of chemistry capital helps to shift the focus from the individual student to the resources a student possesses in the sociocultural context that help him or her succeed in the field of chemistry. This allows uncovering social inequalities in the field that need to be addressed in educational policy. Moreover, it can inspire intervention studies and application-focused research (e.g. approaches to culture-sensitive chemistry teaching).}, language = {en} }