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‘Biology is easy, physics is hard’: Student perceptions of the ideal and the typical student across STEM higher education

Title: ‘Biology is easy, physics is hard’: Student perceptions of the ideal and the typical student across STEM higher education
Authors: Wong, B
Chiu, Y-LT
Murray, ÓM
Horsburgh, J
Copsey-Blake, M
Item Type: Journal Article
Abstract: This paper draws upon in-depth interviews with 89 students from two UK universities to explore how students from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degrees describe the ideal as well as the typical student in their respective disciplines. We provide a comparative insight into the similarities and differences between disciplinary identities based on student perceptions. More specifically, we consider how undergraduates from biology, engineering, mathematics and physics construct the ideal and the typical student in their degree, highlighting the popular discourses and desirable traits that appear to characterise students in these disciplines. In addition to a masculinised construction of students in engineering, mathematics and physics, we found a social hierarchy within STEM degrees where biology was perceived as the easier STEM subject. We conclude with a discussion of the impact of such hierarchies on student identities in STEM, and potential implications for equality, diversity and inclusion.
Issue Date: 2023
Date of Acceptance: 4-Sep-2022
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/99928
DOI: 10.1080/09620214.2022.2122532
ISSN: 0962-0214
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Start Page: 118
End Page: 139
Journal / Book Title: International Studies in Sociology of Education
Volume: 32
Issue: 1
Copyright Statement: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publication Status: Published
Online Publication Date: 2022-09-25
Appears in Collections:Central Faculty



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