In this hermeneutic study we explore how fictive kinship (kin-like close personal friendship) amongst high school students of color mediated their resiliency, perseverance, and success in a college physics class. These freely chosen, processual friendships were based on emotional and material support, motivation, and caring for each other, as well as trust, common interests, and goals. Such close bonds contributed in creating a safe and supportive emotional space and allowed for friendly, cooperative competition within the physics classroom. Friends became the role models, source of support, and motivation for the fictive kinship group as well as for each other, as the group became the role model, source of support, and motivation for the individuals in it. Because of their friendships with one another, physics talk was extended and made part of their personal interactions outside the classroom. These social relationships and safe spaces helped the students cope and persevere despite their initial conflicting expectations of their success in physics. Our research thus expands on the concept of social learning by exploring student friendships and how they frame and mediate such a process. Executive summaryΣτην παρούσα μελέτη διερευνούμε πώς οι σχέσεις στενής αδελφικής φιλίας μεταξύ μαθητών λυκείου συνετέλεσαν ώστε οι μαθητές αυτοί που παρακολουθούσαν ένα πανεπιστημιακό μάθημα φυσικής να αντέξουν τις δυσκολίες, να επιμείνουν στις προσπάθειες και τελικά να επιτύχουν στις επιδόσεις τους. Οι αδελφικοί φιλικοί δεσμοί

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In his December editorial on Michael Reiss, Kenneth Tobin (Cult Stud Sci Educ 3:793-798, 2008), raises some very important questions for science and science teachers regarding science education and the teaching of creationism in the classroom.

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