This paper sets out an argument and approach for moving beyond a primarily arts-based conceptualization of cultural capital, as has been the tendency within Bourdieusian approaches to date. We advance the notion that, in contemporary society, scientific forms of cultural and social capital can command a high symbolic and exchange value.

ABSTRACT:The concern about students' engagement with school science and the numbers pursuing the further study of science is an international phenomenon and a matter of considerable concern among policy makers. Research has demonstrated that the majority of young children have positive attitudes to science at age 10 but that this interest then declines sharply and by age 14, their attitude and interest in the study of science has been largely formed. This paper reports on data collected as part of a funded 5-year longitudinal study that seeks to determine how students' interest in science and scientiÞc careers evolves. As an initial part of the study, six focus group discussions were undertaken with schoolchildren, age 10 -11, to explore their attitudes toward science and interest in science, the Þndings of which are presented here. The children's responses are analyzed through the lens of identity, drawing on a theoretical framework that views identity as an embodied and a performed construction that is both produced by individuals and shaped by their speciÞc structural locations. This work offers new insights into the manner in which students construct representations of science and scientists.

This review of the literature on field trips to out-of-school settings will briefly summarize key findings and discuss implications for future research and field trip practice. Cognitive and affective learning can occur as a result of class visits to out-of-school settings, and learning outcomes are fundamentally influenced by the structure of the field trip, setting novelty, prior knowledge and interest of the students, the social context of the visit, teacher agendas, student experiences during the field trip, and the presence or absence and quality of preparation and follow-up. Field trips, however, are not ideal for teaching complex concepts or even isolated facts, they are not "better classroom settings"; instead, they serve best as opportunities for exploration, discovery, first-hand and original experiences. Despite systemic pressures to the contrary, teachers and informal educators tend to agree on this broader vision of field trips and this article makes a variety of suggestions for putting such a vision into practice.

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