It Runs in the Family: The Role of Family and Extended Social Networks in Developing Early Science Interest (2018)
Chakraverty, Devasmita (Author)
Sarah N. Newcomer (Author)
Kelly Puzio (Author)
Robert H. Tai (Author)
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society
Volume: 38
Issue: 3-4
Pages: 27-38
Research shows that early scientific interest is associated with science degree completion and career selection. However, little is known about the conditions that support early scientific interest. Using a “funds of knowledge” theoretical framework, this study examined the role of parents, family, and extended social networks in fostering early interest in science. Using interview narratives from 116 scientists (physicists and chemists) in the United States, we conducted a qualitative thematic content analysis. Findings suggest that children who become scientists in adulthood often received early, informal opportunities to use and manipulate material objects and discover how the world works. Second, families used a wide variety of scientific terms at home and encouraged children to pursue their interests whether in science or other fields. Third, these future scientists were often networked with extended family members or friends to observe and do science when they were quite young. Collectively, these findings highlight the specific ways in which families fostered early scientific interest and aided in supporting a student-directed learning environment.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Bruno M. L. Pinto;
José L. Costa;
Henrique N. Cabral;
(2017)
How Do Science Communication Practitioners View Scientists and Audiences in Relation to Public Engagement Activities? A Research Note Concerning the Marine Sciences in Portugal
(/isis/citation/CBB523457002/)
Article
Erin A. Cech;
Anneke Metz;
Jessie L. Smith;
Karen deVries;
(September 2017)
Epistemological Dominance and Social Inequality: Experiences of Native American Science, Engineering, and Health Students
(/isis/citation/CBB816459691/)
Article
Thomas Krendl Gilbert;
Andrew Loveridge;
(February 2021)
Subjectifying objectivity: Delineating tastes in theoretical quantum gravity research
(/isis/citation/CBB805036052/)
Article
Nadine Levin;
Sabine Leonelli;
Dagmara Weckowska;
David Castle;
John Dupré;
(2016)
How Do Scientists Define Openness? Exploring the Relationship Between Open Science Policies and Research Practice
(/isis/citation/CBB530775467/)
Article
César Guzmán Tovar;
(2018)
Fractured scientific subjectivities. International mobility as an option and obligation
(/isis/citation/CBB474347032/)
Article
Fox, Mary Frank;
Fonseca, Carolyn;
Bao, Jinghui;
(October 2011)
Work and family conflict in academic science: Patterns and predictors among women and men in research universities
(/isis/citation/CBB163968391/)
Article
Tom Rook;
Harry Yi-Jui Wu;
(2022)
Defending Lives among Concrete Walls: An Interview with Flâneur Artist, Tom Rook
(/isis/citation/CBB414188247/)
Article
Kellie Owens;
(September 2017)
Too Much of a Good Thing? American Childbirth, Intentional Ignorance, and the Boundaries of Responsible Knowledge
(/isis/citation/CBB160615752/)
Article
Nadine Levin;
Sabina Leonelli;
(March 2017)
How Does One “Open” Science? Questions of Value in Biological Research
(/isis/citation/CBB290502459/)
Article
Leandro Rodriguez Medina;
Hyungsub Choi;
(2022)
The Life and Death of Machines and Imaginaries: Conversations on Trains on EASTS Covers
(/isis/citation/CBB665341357/)
Article
Benjamin K. Sovacool;
David J. Hess;
(October 2017)
Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change
(/isis/citation/CBB756258184/)
Article
Owen Marshall;
(2022)
Un-silencing an Experimental Technique: Listening to the Electrical Penetration Graph
(/isis/citation/CBB827332902/)
Article
Alina Geampana;
(2019)
Risky Technologies: Systemic Uncertainty in Contraceptive Risk Assessment and Management
(/isis/citation/CBB376759289/)
Article
Reichmann, Werner;
(December 2013)
Epistemic participation: How to produce knowledge about the economic future
(/isis/citation/CBB580792249/)
Article
Sora Park;
(December 2018)
FOMO, Ephemerality, and Online Social Interactions among Young People
(/isis/citation/CBB858909460/)
Article
Sara L. Ackerman;
Katherine Weatherford Darling;
Sandra Soo-Jin Lee;
(March 2016)
Accounting for Complexity: Gene–environment Interaction Research and the Moral Economy of Quantification
(/isis/citation/CBB257526872/)
Article
Jaya Keaney;
(2022)
The Racializing Womb: Surrogacy and Epigenetic Kinship
(/isis/citation/CBB389875479/)
Article
Ernst van der Wal;
(December 2020)
LGBT Refugees and the Visual Representation of Transnational Mobility
(/isis/citation/CBB121039241/)
Article
Catherine Heeney;
(January 2017)
An “Ethical Moment” in Data Sharing
(/isis/citation/CBB939267013/)
Article
Fatima K. Espinoza Vasquez;
(2023)
Working at the Seams of Colonial Structures: Alternative Sociotechnical Infrastructures Revealed by Hurricane Maria
(/isis/citation/CBB231267644/)
Be the first to comment!