Paper short abstract:

Through a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews, this research explores how science education practitioners use science capital as either an ideology, a basis for their approach to science education, or a practicality, drawn upon as a specific social justice tool.

Paper long abstract:

To address issues of inequity and exclusion in the science classroom, Louise Archer and her colleagues established the concept of science capital, a collection of resources and experiences which can inform an individual's ability to engage with science, and their aspirations to pursue post-compulsory science education and careers. Following the initial proposal of the concept in 2014, science capital has become popular in the fields of science education and science communication as a way to consider equity and social justice; many practitioners within these fields have created their own conceptualisations of it and incorporated these conceptualisations into their practice.

Building on Archer’s work, this paper explores the ways in which practitioners have conceptualised and operationalised the concept of science capital in their work planning, delivering and evaluating science-based learning activities. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, my research shows how practitioners either view science capital as an ideology, meaning it aligns with their internal motivations for working in science education and forms the basis of their approach, or as a practicality, meaning science capital is drawn upon as a specific tool to address equity and social justice, challenging their approach to science education. In showing how a range of practitioners have both aligned with and diverged from Archer’s original conceptualisation of science capital, this paper argues that a nuanced view of science capital is required to develop its value for social justice, and demonstrates the need for sustained support to allow academic research to transform practice towards equity and social justice.