Positionality of African Americans and a theoretical accommodation of it: Rethinking science education research

Abstract

This essay addresses a call for research involving African Americans to interpret data from the historical, contemporary, and cultural experiences of African Americans. The essay argues for a science education research approach that explicitly considers the positionality of African Americans in the United States. This positionality involves the negotiation of three distinct and conflicting realms of experience that pertain to oppression, African-rooted Black culture, and the dominant culture in the United States. The theoretical tool proposed in this essay accommodates the positionality of African Americans by superimposing it upon a model that synthesizes the ideas of Michael Cole (cultural-historical activity theory) and Urie Bronfenbrenner (ecology of human development).

South Korean business owners' perceptions of community policing in the Baltimore City

“…Based on the concept of deficit perspective, the implicit premise of cultural, socioeconomical, and political spheres of all human lives regardless of race, ethnic origin, gender, social background, sexual orientation and so forth limits people from having sufficient perspectives of others (Carlton Parsons, 2008). While positivists assert that a theory can verify the truth with objective evidence that is fully comprehensible, post-positivists emphasize that a theory cannot verify the truth because of the incomplete and objective reality (Ponterotto, 2005).…”

nnovative practices in corporate social responsibility: a narrative research study exploring how apparel industry managers describe the operational practices associated with corporate social responsibility within their organizations

“…I have debated the role of CSR in the apparel industry, particularly in organizational decision-making along the supply chain, with many people and found it very surprising how the responses varied. To better understand perspectives of others, I believe Cole's cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT, as described by Carlton Parsons (2008)) gives a clearer understanding of an individual's thinking. Specifically, the cultural-historical, ontogeny (history of our lives), and microgenesis (our every moment of experiences) provide insight into an individual's positionality.…”

Transfer seminar : a case study of transfer students' experiences at a private, four-year college in Brooklyn, New York, using Tinto's model of persistence

“…For instance, the innermost circle of the ecological systems model is termed the "micro," constituting immediate settings, which involve the individual (in Carlton Parsons, 2008) My positionality and the above biases could affect my research topic, as I seek to study the student experience of transfer to a new institution, and the students' perception and experience of the Transfer Seminar implemented to support such a transition.…”