John Dewitt
Biographic Data
| ID | 330384 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Dewitt |
| GIVEN NAMES | John |
| FAMILY NAME | Dewitt |
| SIGNATURE | DEWITT J |
| AFFILIATIONS | King's College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8584-2888 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 34 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 111 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 34 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
“It’s always been a challenge, right?” An analysis of the affordances and limitations of STEM educators’ attempts to improve gender equity in Global South and North makerspaces
Introduction The longstanding, chronic under-representation of girls/ women and non-binary youth in engineering and computing remains a global concern. Informal STEM learning contexts, such as makerspaces, have the potential and flexibility to engage all young people with STEM in creative, engaging and equitable ways. Yet to date, this potential remains largely un-realized, with many makerspaces remaining ‘chilly’, male-dominated spaces (material…
Who Aspires to Become a Teacher? Findings from a Cohort Study Tracking Young People from Age 10/11 to Age 21/22
Against a backdrop of severe and long-standing teacher shortages, in this paper we present analyses of over 60,000 survey responses collected via a cross-sectional cohort study that sampled young people in England over a period of 11 years; at ages 10/11, 12/13, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, and 21/22. These methods allow us to explore how common teaching aspirations are amongst young people at different ages, and who aspires to become a teacher as a futu…
Equity in Global South makerspaces: Insights from practitioners in Nepal and Palestine
More is more: Exploring the relationship between young people’s experiences of school-based career education, information, advice and guidance at age 14–16 and wider adult outcomes at age 21–22 in Eng…
Does school-based careers education, advice, information and guidance (CEAIG) have any influence on later life outcomes? This paper reports regression analyses using 7,635 survey responses from young people in England aged 21–22. Significant positive relationships were found between self-reported CEAIG activities experienced at age 14–16 and a range of adult outcomes reported at age 21–22. Both the quantity and quality of these CEAIG activities w…
A Slice of Sardine and Bury Mush Flounder
A Slice of Sardine and Bury Mush Flounder
Mapping the eight dimensions of the ideal student in higher education
Marketisation has directed higher education institutions and policies to focus on student support and provisions that promote better experience and value. By contrast, expectations of university students are under-researched and understated, with less attention placed on what and how students should perform in higher education. This paper further develops the concept of the ideal student at university, which aims to promote transparency and expli…
Who has high science capital? An exploration of emerging patterns of science capital among students aged 17/18 in England
Increasing and diversifying participation in science remains a key educational policy concern for governments across the world. Science capital has been proposed as a useful theoretical lens that can explain patterns in science aspirations among young people aged 11-16 – but to date it has not been explored in relation to educational outcomes among older age groups. This paper reports findings from a new survey of 7,013 17/18 year old English sec…
Science capital or STEM capital? Exploring relationships between science capital and technology, engineering, and maths aspirations and attitudes among young people aged 17/18
We previously proposed that science capital (science‐related forms of cultural and social capital) can be used as a theoretical lens for explaining the patterned nature of aspirations and educational participation among young people aged 11–16. Building on these findings, the present article investigates whether science capital is related to post‐18 aspirations to pursue further STEM study and whether science capital can be extended to related di…
Selfies at the science museum: Exploring girls’ identity performances in a science learning space
Science education has a seemingly intractable gender problem and remains largely the reserve of White, middle-class men and boys, especially in the physical sciences. In this paper, taking an intersectional approach to Butler’s idea of identity as performance, we explore the affordances and limitations of a specific science learning space (a science museum) for girls. We discuss four types of performance, one based on ‘good’ behaviour, one combin…
Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums
Student engagement with museum content is an integral part of the mission of many institutions, including science museums. Our research utilises a sociological lens to bring a new perspective on engagement in such spaces. Specifically, we draw on qualitative data from student visits to a science museum to explore what engagement might be possible, by whom, and under what circumstances. The students in focus are of underrepresented ethnic and cult…
Using Bourdieu in practice? Urban secondary teachers’ and students’ experiences of a Bourdieusian-inspired pedagogical approach
This article discusses an attempt at a Bourdieusian-inspired form of praxis, developed and implemented in collaboration with nine London teachers, aimed at developing a socially just approach to engaging students with science. Data are discussed from nine months of classroom observations of nine secondary science classes from six inner London schools (approximately 200 students, aged 11–15), interviews and workshop data from the nine teachers and…
The potential of extended cultural residencies for young children
Although years of research efforts have investigated learning benefits from museum visits, relatively less attention has been paid to young children's experiences in these settings. Drawing on contextualist perspectives of learning, this paper seeks to address this gap, using two case studies to explore the experiences of children ages three to five who spent extended periods of time attending school in a museum setting. We draw on qualitative da…
Comparing Materials for Self-Guided Learning in Interactive Science Exhibitions
Science center exhibitions are considered to have the potential to support students' learning. To contribute to the field's knowledge of how to use this potential to the fullest, this study compares four different designs of self-guided resources for use during a science center visit. The first two (open exploration and a traditional worksheet) are similar to many currently in use, and the other two designs (guided exploratory learning, one paper…
Stratifying science: A Bourdieusian analysis of student views and experiences of school selective practices in relation to ‘Triple Science’ at KS4 in England
Currently, science in England is distinctive at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in comparison to most other subjects, in that there is a notable stratification of award routes. The most prestigious of these, ‘Triple Science’ (the route for entry for three separate science GCSEs), is championed by English government and industry, but has received scant critical academic attention to date. Drawing on data collected via a national …
The “Exceptional” Physics Girl: A Sociological Analysis of Multimethod Data From Young Women Aged 10–16 to Explore Gendered Patterns of Post-16 Participation
Female underrepresentation in postcompulsory physics is an ongoing issue for science education research, policy, and practice. In this article, we apply Bourdieusian and Butlerian conceptual lenses to qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study of students’ science and career aspirations age 10–16. Drawing on survey data from more than 13,000 year 11 (age 15/16) students and interviews with 70 students (who h…
Dimensions of science capital: Exploring its potential for understanding students’ science participation
As concerns about participation rates in post-compulsory science continue unabated, considerable research efforts have been focused on understanding and addressing the issue, bringing various theoretical lenses to bear on the problem. One such conceptual lens is that of ‘science capital’ (science-related forms of social and cultural capital), which has begun to be explored as a tool for examining differential patterns of aspiration and participat…
The Construction of Physics as a Quintessentially Masculine Subject: Young People’s Perceptions of Gender Issues in Access to Physics
The present article investigates explanations for gendered trends in Physics and Engineering access, reporting findings from a large-scale study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and drawing primarily on data from interviews with 132 15-16 year-old adolescents and their parents. Survey results in our study and elsewhere show strong gender disparities in anticipated pursuit of Physics after completion of compulsory education. I…
Who Aspires to a Science Career? A comparison of survey responses from primary and secondary school students
There is broad international agreement about the importance of increasing participation in science once it is no longer compulsory in school, particularly among groups who have been historically underrepresented in science. Previous research reflects that despite broadly positive attitudes to science in and outside of school, there is limited translation of these attitudes into later aspirations and participation in science. The ASPIRES project, …
“Science capital”: A conceptual, methodological, and empirical argument for extending bourdieusian notions of capital beyond the arts
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. Our previous research [Archer et al. (2014) Journal of Research in Science Teaching 51, 1–30] proposed the conc…
Adolescent boys' science aspirations: Masculinity, capital, and power: Adolescent Boys' Science Aspirations
There is widespread international concern about post-16 participation rates in science, with women's under-representation constituting a particular issue. This paper contributes to these debates through a novel, critical examination of the role of masculinity within boys' negotiations of science aspirations. Drawing on a UK longitudinal study of children's science and career aspirations from age 10 to 14 (including a survey of over 9,000 (Year 6,…
What Counts as Science? Families’ Perceptions of Science in a Natural History Museum
Natural history museums open their doors to millions of family visitors each year and are considered to have a valuable role to play in engaging these families with science. Yet little is known about whether or in what way families perceive such institutions to be connected with science. The current study set out to explore such perceptions via interviews with family visitors to a large natural history museum. Analyses reflected that families’ pe…
Spheres of influence: What shapes young people’s aspirations at age 12/13 and what are the implications for education policy
Young people’s aspirations remain an enduring focus of education policy interest and concern. Drawing on data from an ongoing five-year study of young people’s science and career aspirations (age 10–14), this paper asks what do young people aspire to at age 12/13, and what influences these aspirations? It outlines the main aspirations and sources of these aspirations as expressed by young people in England in the last year of primary school (surv…
Young Children's Aspirations in Science: The unequivocal, the uncertain and the unthinkable
Students' lack of interest in studying science and in science-related careers is a concern in the UK and worldwide. Yet there is limited data, particularly longitudinal, on the sources and development of science-related aspirations. In response, the ASPIRES (Science Aspirations and Career Choice: Age 10–14) longitudinal study is investigating the development of students' educational and occupational aspirations over time. In the first phase of th…
‘Not girly, not sexy, not glamorous’: Primary school girls’ and parents’ constructions of science aspirations
Internationally, there is widespread concern about the need to increase participation in the sciences (particularly the physical sciences), especially among girls/women. This paper draws on data from a five-year, longitudinal study of 10–14-year-old children’s science aspirations and career choice to explore the reasons why, even from a young age, many girls may see science aspirations as ‘not for me’. We discuss data from phase one – a survey of…
Science Aspirations, Capital, and Family Habitus: How Families Shape Children’s Engagement and Identification With Science
Low participation rates in the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) post-16 are a matter of international concern. Existing evidence suggests children’s science aspirations are largely formed within the critical 10 to 14 age period. This article reports on survey data from over 9,000 elementary school children in England (age 10/11) and qualitative data from 160 semi-structured interviews (92 children aged 10/11 and 7…
Spheres of influence: What shapes young people’s aspirations at age 12/13 and what are the implications for education policy
Young people’s aspirations remain an enduring focus of education policy interest and concern. Drawing on data from an ongoing five-year study of young people’s science and career aspirations (age 10–14), this paper asks what do young people aspire to at age 12/13, and what influences these aspirations? It outlines the main aspirations and sources of these aspirations as expressed by young people in England in the last year of primary school (surv…
The Construction of Physics as a Quintessentially Masculine Subject: Young People’s Perceptions of Gender Issues in Access to Physics
The present article investigates explanations for gendered trends in Physics and Engineering access, reporting findings from a large-scale study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and drawing primarily on data from interviews with 132 15-16 year-old adolescents and their parents. Survey results in our study and elsewhere show strong gender disparities in anticipated pursuit of Physics after completion of compulsory education. I…
The “Exceptional” Physics Girl: A Sociological Analysis of Multimethod Data From Young Women Aged 10–16 to Explore Gendered Patterns of Post-16 Participation
Female underrepresentation in postcompulsory physics is an ongoing issue for science education research, policy, and practice. In this article, we apply Bourdieusian and Butlerian conceptual lenses to qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study of students’ science and career aspirations age 10–16. Drawing on survey data from more than 13,000 year 11 (age 15/16) students and interviews with 70 students (who h…
Selfies at the science museum: Exploring girls’ identity performances in a science learning space
Science education has a seemingly intractable gender problem and remains largely the reserve of White, middle-class men and boys, especially in the physical sciences. In this paper, taking an intersectional approach to Butler’s idea of identity as performance, we explore the affordances and limitations of a specific science learning space (a science museum) for girls. We discuss four types of performance, one based on ‘good’ behaviour, one combin…
Indian Worker's Associations in Britain
Stratifying science: A Bourdieusian analysis of student views and experiences of school selective practices in relation to ‘Triple Science’ at KS4 in England
Currently, science in England is distinctive at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in comparison to most other subjects, in that there is a notable stratification of award routes. The most prestigious of these, ‘Triple Science’ (the route for entry for three separate science GCSEs), is championed by English government and industry, but has received scant critical academic attention to date. Drawing on data collected via a national …
Who has high science capital? An exploration of emerging patterns of science capital among students aged 17/18 in England
Increasing and diversifying participation in science remains a key educational policy concern for governments across the world. Science capital has been proposed as a useful theoretical lens that can explain patterns in science aspirations among young people aged 11-16 – but to date it has not been explored in relation to educational outcomes among older age groups. This paper reports findings from a new survey of 7,013 17/18 year old English sec…
Using Bourdieu in practice? Urban secondary teachers’ and students’ experiences of a Bourdieusian-inspired pedagogical approach
This article discusses an attempt at a Bourdieusian-inspired form of praxis, developed and implemented in collaboration with nine London teachers, aimed at developing a socially just approach to engaging students with science. Data are discussed from nine months of classroom observations of nine secondary science classes from six inner London schools (approximately 200 students, aged 11–15), interviews and workshop data from the nine teachers and…
More is more: Exploring the relationship between young people’s experiences of school-based career education, information, advice and guidance at age 14–16 and wider adult outcomes at age 21–22 in Eng…
Does school-based careers education, advice, information and guidance (CEAIG) have any influence on later life outcomes? This paper reports regression analyses using 7,635 survey responses from young people in England aged 21–22. Significant positive relationships were found between self-reported CEAIG activities experienced at age 14–16 and a range of adult outcomes reported at age 21–22. Both the quantity and quality of these CEAIG activities w…
Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums
Student engagement with museum content is an integral part of the mission of many institutions, including science museums. Our research utilises a sociological lens to bring a new perspective on engagement in such spaces. Specifically, we draw on qualitative data from student visits to a science museum to explore what engagement might be possible, by whom, and under what circumstances. The students in focus are of underrepresented ethnic and cult…
The potential of extended cultural residencies for young children
Although years of research efforts have investigated learning benefits from museum visits, relatively less attention has been paid to young children's experiences in these settings. Drawing on contextualist perspectives of learning, this paper seeks to address this gap, using two case studies to explore the experiences of children ages three to five who spent extended periods of time attending school in a museum setting. We draw on qualitative da…
Christian Science Spiritual Healing, the Law, and Public Opinion
James T. Richardson, John Dewitt; Christian Science Spiritual Healing, the Law, and Public Opinion, Journal of Church and State, Volume 34, Issue 3, 1 July
Sugar Cane Cultivation and Rural Misery: Northeast Brazil
Sugar plantations were the basis of settlement by the Portuguese of northeastern Brazil. The legacies of monoculture agriculture include a highly stratified society controlled by a small group of elites, concentrated land ownership, and great inequities in income distribution. Agricultural modernization has caused these legacies to become more firmly entrenched. The government's program to produce alcohol from sugar cane to be used as fuel has ca…
Indian Worker's Associations in Britain
Sugar Cane Cultivation and Rural Misery: Northeast Brazil
Sugar plantations were the basis of settlement by the Portuguese of northeastern Brazil. The legacies of monoculture agriculture include a highly stratified society controlled by a small group of elites, concentrated land ownership, and great inequities in income distribution. Agricultural modernization has caused these legacies to become more firmly entrenched. The government's program to produce alcohol from sugar cane to be used as fuel has ca…
The Family Interpreted: Feminist Theory in Clinical Practice
Christian Science Spiritual Healing, the Law, and Public Opinion
James T. Richardson, John Dewitt; Christian Science Spiritual Healing, the Law, and Public Opinion, Journal of Church and State, Volume 34, Issue 3, 1 July
A Short Review of School Field Trips: Key Findings from the Past and Implications for the Future
“Doing” science versus “being” a scientist: Examining 10/11‐year‐old schoolchildren's constructions of science through the lens of identity
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…
Supporting Student Learning: A Comparison of Student Discussion in Museums and Classrooms
Research indicates that school trips to informal science institutions can result in cognitive and affective gains; however, less is known about the mechanisms by which such learning may occur. This article takes a sociocultural perspective that discourse is one of the main modes of learning, and thus examines the talk that occurs among students both during a visit and during follow-up lessons in the classroom. Transcripts from students in 4 prima…
“Balancing acts'': Elementary school girls' negotiations of femininity, achievement, and science
There is international concern over persistent low rates of participation in postcompulsory science—especially the physical sciences—within which there is a notable underrepresentation of girls/women. This paper draws on data collected from a survey of more than 9,000 10/11‐year‐old pupils and 170 interviews (with 92 children and 78 parents) from a 5‐year study of children's science aspirations and career choice in England, to explore how gender …
Science Aspirations, Capital, and Family Habitus: How Families Shape Children’s Engagement and Identification With Science
Low participation rates in the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) post-16 are a matter of international concern. Existing evidence suggests children’s science aspirations are largely formed within the critical 10 to 14 age period. This article reports on survey data from over 9,000 elementary school children in England (age 10/11) and qualitative data from 160 semi-structured interviews (92 children aged 10/11 and 7…
Young Children's Aspirations in Science: The unequivocal, the uncertain and the unthinkable
Students' lack of interest in studying science and in science-related careers is a concern in the UK and worldwide. Yet there is limited data, particularly longitudinal, on the sources and development of science-related aspirations. In response, the ASPIRES (Science Aspirations and Career Choice: Age 10–14) longitudinal study is investigating the development of students' educational and occupational aspirations over time. In the first phase of th…
‘Not girly, not sexy, not glamorous’: Primary school girls’ and parents’ constructions of science aspirations
Internationally, there is widespread concern about the need to increase participation in the sciences (particularly the physical sciences), especially among girls/women. This paper draws on data from a five-year, longitudinal study of 10–14-year-old children’s science aspirations and career choice to explore the reasons why, even from a young age, many girls may see science aspirations as ‘not for me’. We discuss data from phase one – a survey of…
Adolescent boys' science aspirations: Masculinity, capital, and power: Adolescent Boys' Science Aspirations
There is widespread international concern about post-16 participation rates in science, with women's under-representation constituting a particular issue. This paper contributes to these debates through a novel, critical examination of the role of masculinity within boys' negotiations of science aspirations. Drawing on a UK longitudinal study of children's science and career aspirations from age 10 to 14 (including a survey of over 9,000 (Year 6,…
What Counts as Science? Families’ Perceptions of Science in a Natural History Museum
Natural history museums open their doors to millions of family visitors each year and are considered to have a valuable role to play in engaging these families with science. Yet little is known about whether or in what way families perceive such institutions to be connected with science. The current study set out to explore such perceptions via interviews with family visitors to a large natural history museum. Analyses reflected that families’ pe…
Spheres of influence: What shapes young people’s aspirations at age 12/13 and what are the implications for education policy
Young people’s aspirations remain an enduring focus of education policy interest and concern. Drawing on data from an ongoing five-year study of young people’s science and career aspirations (age 10–14), this paper asks what do young people aspire to at age 12/13, and what influences these aspirations? It outlines the main aspirations and sources of these aspirations as expressed by young people in England in the last year of primary school (surv…
Who Aspires to a Science Career? A comparison of survey responses from primary and secondary school students
There is broad international agreement about the importance of increasing participation in science once it is no longer compulsory in school, particularly among groups who have been historically underrepresented in science. Previous research reflects that despite broadly positive attitudes to science in and outside of school, there is limited translation of these attitudes into later aspirations and participation in science. The ASPIRES project, …
“Science capital”: A conceptual, methodological, and empirical argument for extending bourdieusian notions of capital beyond the arts
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. Our previous research [Archer et al. (2014) Journal of Research in Science Teaching 51, 1–30] proposed the conc…
Dimensions of science capital: Exploring its potential for understanding students’ science participation
As concerns about participation rates in post-compulsory science continue unabated, considerable research efforts have been focused on understanding and addressing the issue, bringing various theoretical lenses to bear on the problem. One such conceptual lens is that of ‘science capital’ (science-related forms of social and cultural capital), which has begun to be explored as a tool for examining differential patterns of aspiration and participat…
The Construction of Physics as a Quintessentially Masculine Subject: Young People’s Perceptions of Gender Issues in Access to Physics
The present article investigates explanations for gendered trends in Physics and Engineering access, reporting findings from a large-scale study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and drawing primarily on data from interviews with 132 15-16 year-old adolescents and their parents. Survey results in our study and elsewhere show strong gender disparities in anticipated pursuit of Physics after completion of compulsory education. I…
Comparing Materials for Self-Guided Learning in Interactive Science Exhibitions
Science center exhibitions are considered to have the potential to support students' learning. To contribute to the field's knowledge of how to use this potential to the fullest, this study compares four different designs of self-guided resources for use during a science center visit. The first two (open exploration and a traditional worksheet) are similar to many currently in use, and the other two designs (guided exploratory learning, one paper…
Stratifying science: A Bourdieusian analysis of student views and experiences of school selective practices in relation to ‘Triple Science’ at KS4 in England
Currently, science in England is distinctive at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in comparison to most other subjects, in that there is a notable stratification of award routes. The most prestigious of these, ‘Triple Science’ (the route for entry for three separate science GCSEs), is championed by English government and industry, but has received scant critical academic attention to date. Drawing on data collected via a national …
The “Exceptional” Physics Girl: A Sociological Analysis of Multimethod Data From Young Women Aged 10–16 to Explore Gendered Patterns of Post-16 Participation
Female underrepresentation in postcompulsory physics is an ongoing issue for science education research, policy, and practice. In this article, we apply Bourdieusian and Butlerian conceptual lenses to qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study of students’ science and career aspirations age 10–16. Drawing on survey data from more than 13,000 year 11 (age 15/16) students and interviews with 70 students (who h…
Using Bourdieu in practice? Urban secondary teachers’ and students’ experiences of a Bourdieusian-inspired pedagogical approach
This article discusses an attempt at a Bourdieusian-inspired form of praxis, developed and implemented in collaboration with nine London teachers, aimed at developing a socially just approach to engaging students with science. Data are discussed from nine months of classroom observations of nine secondary science classes from six inner London schools (approximately 200 students, aged 11–15), interviews and workshop data from the nine teachers and…
The potential of extended cultural residencies for young children
Although years of research efforts have investigated learning benefits from museum visits, relatively less attention has been paid to young children's experiences in these settings. Drawing on contextualist perspectives of learning, this paper seeks to address this gap, using two case studies to explore the experiences of children ages three to five who spent extended periods of time attending school in a museum setting. We draw on qualitative da…
Selfies at the science museum: Exploring girls’ identity performances in a science learning space
Science education has a seemingly intractable gender problem and remains largely the reserve of White, middle-class men and boys, especially in the physical sciences. In this paper, taking an intersectional approach to Butler’s idea of identity as performance, we explore the affordances and limitations of a specific science learning space (a science museum) for girls. We discuss four types of performance, one based on ‘good’ behaviour, one combin…
Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums
Student engagement with museum content is an integral part of the mission of many institutions, including science museums. Our research utilises a sociological lens to bring a new perspective on engagement in such spaces. Specifically, we draw on qualitative data from student visits to a science museum to explore what engagement might be possible, by whom, and under what circumstances. The students in focus are of underrepresented ethnic and cult…
Psychology (24 works) · Sociology (22 works) · Pedagogy (17 works) · Mathematics education (15 works) · Science education (14 works) · Career Development and Diversity (13 works) · Social science (10 works) · Political science (7 works) · Science Education and Perceptions (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works)