Voices long silent were invited to speak: A study of science anxiety in female biology students at a two -year branch campus.

摘要

This qualitative study of six female biology students at a two-year branch campus of a major Midwestern university was undertaken to study science anxiety. The study was grounded in feminist theory and addressed the questions of how the students described their science anxiety, what were the possible causes of their science anxiety, what gender issues had impinged upon their lives and education, and what factors had helped them to succeed, despite their science anxiety.;Focus group meetings, private interviews, and web-based discussions provided data that described this problem. Data were analyzed for descriptions of science anxiety, possible causes of science anxiety, gender issues, and factors that have encouraged student success. Among the students' varied stories and backgrounds, four commonalities emerged: exposure to some type of significant trauma or obstacles, a lack of rescue for the students as they experienced trauma, a loss of confidence and resulting loss of voice in the students, and elucidation of classroom strategies and other factors that have helped them succeed, despite their science anxiety.;Implications arising from this study include the need for a much better understanding of female students attending two-year institutions of higher education, and what measures help them learn. This requires more student-teacher interaction and the use of feminist pedagogy that prioritizes not only best practices, but also justice in the classroom, and opportunities for students to network and share their stories. Other implications include the need for curricular adjustments that would enable the changes in classroom strategies that students need to facilitate learning. Educators and counselors in K–12 also need to be more attentive to student needs and fears, directing them to resources that may smooth their transition to college courses. Implications for future research include the need for a new assessment tool that would test for the kind of data found in this study. This would provide information regarding the incidence of science anxiety in two-year and four-year institutions and further elucidation of strategies and factors that encourage student success.