Unveiling the production of non-participation in the primary school science classroom

Abstract

This paper originates from experiences of low participation in science teaching in primary school during ethnographic fieldwork. Focusing on these observations and inspired by other studies conceptualising non-participation, this paper examines how non-participation is shaped and produced in primary school science. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with students in year six (12 years old), three forms of non-participation are analysed as well as the various forms and shapes they take, namely non-participation: 1. through exposure; 2. through being overlooked; and 3. through being disciplined. Using the theoretical concepts of performativity and positionality, the paper analyses how the production of non-participation emerges as rigid positions, hard to negotiate and thus quite stable over time, as well as interfering with intersections of gender, race/ethnicity and social background. At the end of the paper, we discuss how the positions' displays of stability serve as barriers to students’ ability to form identities as science learners in different contexts and over time, and we argue that teachers play an important role in disrupting these positions. Moreover, we point towards future research to continue the work on conceptualising non-participation, and we suggest that there is potential in combining research on emotions and affect with understanding how non-participation is formed and shaped not only inside the classroom but also in other science settings outside school.