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“I’m Not a Writer”: Shaping the Literacy-Related Attitudes and Beliefs of Students and Teachers in STEM Disciplines

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Theorizing the Future of Science Education Research

Part of the book series: Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education ((CTISE,volume 49))

Abstract

In this chapter I claim that many STEM students have developed negative attitudes and beliefs towards writing in science, often arising from earlier school experiences entailing their lack of self-efficacy as writers. These negative perceptions may be partly due to teacher attitudes but can also be traced to international and national curricular documents that tend to minimise the role of writing in developing and demonstrating science literacy. I argue that changes to STEM student literacy-related attitudes and beliefs need to emerge from within the STEM educational community in terms of how science education is defined.

I tell my students that you may think you’re a scientist – you’re not – you’re a writer who writes about science

Senior Scientist, Genetics

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  1. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Lisa Emerson

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  1. School of Education, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Vaughan Prain

  2. College of Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Brian Hand

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Emerson, L. (2019). “I’m Not a Writer”: Shaping the Literacy-Related Attitudes and Beliefs of Students and Teachers in STEM Disciplines. In: Prain, V., Hand, B. (eds) Theorizing the Future of Science Education Research. Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24013-4_11

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