Affected by STEM?: Young girls negotiating STEM presents and futures in a Danish school

Jette Sandager; Signe Ravn

doi:10.1080/09540253.2023.2206841

Affected by STEM? Young girls negotiating STEM presents and futures in a Danish school

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article explores how Danish school girls affectively engage with and relate to STEM subjects, and what draws the girls to STEM subjects and pushes them away, respectively. We draw on Ahmed’s work to shed light on the ‘sticky’ affects that become attached to STEM subjects as well as student subjects in constituting these as affectively (un)attractive for girls. We explore the discourses on STEM subjects that circulate amongst the students before considering the affects that these discourses generate in and amongst the students, and which roles these affective reactions play in how the girls engage with and relate to STEM. Our analysis evolves around three affective tensions in the data and shows that positive affects are felt by and attached to students with STEM interests and skills, and that students negotiate different kinds of (dis-)comfort when relating to their engagement with STEM in the present and in the future.

Original language	English
Journal	Gender and Education
Volume	35
Issue	5
Pages (from-to)	454-468
Number of pages	15
ISSN	0954-0253
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2023.2206841
Publication status	Published - 2023
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Affect
Ahmed
girls
happy futures
qualitative research
STEM

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10.1080/09540253.2023.2206841

Cite this

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title = "Affected by STEM?: Young girls negotiating STEM presents and futures in a Danish school",

abstract = "This article explores how Danish school girls affectively engage with and relate to STEM subjects, and what draws the girls to STEM subjects and pushes them away, respectively. We draw on Ahmed{\textquoteright}s work to shed light on the {\textquoteleft}sticky{\textquoteright} affects that become attached to STEM subjects as well as student subjects in constituting these as affectively (un)attractive for girls. We explore the discourses on STEM subjects that circulate amongst the students before considering the affects that these discourses generate in and amongst the students, and which roles these affective reactions play in how the girls engage with and relate to STEM. Our analysis evolves around three affective tensions in the data and shows that positive affects are felt by and attached to students with STEM interests and skills, and that students negotiate different kinds of (dis-)comfort when relating to their engagement with STEM in the present and in the future.",

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AB - This article explores how Danish school girls affectively engage with and relate to STEM subjects, and what draws the girls to STEM subjects and pushes them away, respectively. We draw on Ahmed’s work to shed light on the ‘sticky’ affects that become attached to STEM subjects as well as student subjects in constituting these as affectively (un)attractive for girls. We explore the discourses on STEM subjects that circulate amongst the students before considering the affects that these discourses generate in and amongst the students, and which roles these affective reactions play in how the girls engage with and relate to STEM. Our analysis evolves around three affective tensions in the data and shows that positive affects are felt by and attached to students with STEM interests and skills, and that students negotiate different kinds of (dis-)comfort when relating to their engagement with STEM in the present and in the future.

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Affected by STEM? Young girls negotiating STEM presents and futures in a Danish school

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Keywords

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