Participation, positioning, and power: Opportunities to learn in a university Kinesiology Classroom

Past studies in science education research have documented that people of colour and women continue to be underrepresented in science-related university programmes and careers. To better understand issues of equity and student achievement, providing equitable opportunities to learn (OTL) in diverse, content-focused classrooms has been recognized as an important aim in educational research. This critical microethnographic study examines a Canadian, undergraduate, Kinesiology classroom and how the professor’s framing of science learning made space for a range of OTL. Then I explore how students’ navigation of scientific discussions shaped their access to particular OTL. Drawing from cultural-historical activity theory and positioning theory, this dissertation brings into focus the sociohistorical and discursive practices of students and teachers in a science classroom. The research draws data from classroom videotapes, interviews, and stimulated recalls, wherein two participants were the foci of analysis. The analyses consider students’ verbal and non-verbal acts of positioning, highlighting how these positions can facilitate and/or constrained their access to OTL. In one group, a focal student appeared to take up the position of a facilitator, and in another, there appeared to be no expert or facilitator. The second student adopted a powerful role in one activity, then shifted from an initially more passive role to a mediator position in another group. My findings show how a common task led to differential contexts for learning. In particular, conflicts and student differential uptake of positions in small-group settings are examined for their ability to potentially foster unique OTL. My study’s theoretical contributions include a synthesis of sociocultural theories of learning, as well as how these theories can be strengthened through sustained attention to multi- levels of inquiry. The different grains of video analysis afford a broader look at how students learn together in scientific discussions; what resources they draw upon to make meaning; how they negotiate the multiple, interactional demands of the task; and how power and social relations shape available OTL. Implications for science education research are also raised, including suggestions for a greater analytic focus on student-led spaces, and bringing together conversations of learning, identity, and power.

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