Summary and research questions Sample Clauses

Summary and research questions. This chapter has reviewed the context in which this thesis asks questions about non-participation in PES. The role of science in British society and the role of PES have been examined. This review has positioned PES as a form of cultural participation and, as a result, reviewed not only PES and non-participation, but the social inclusion policies that have influenced perceptions of inclusion and exclusion in PES practice. The way non-participation in PES has been framed by policies and practices has been criticised here for not providing adequate explanations of non-participation. Instead, this review drew on theories about the relationships between cultural participation, social positions and the reproduction of social inequalities based on the work of Xxxxxxxx and intersectional theorists. This chapter has suggested that non-participation in PES is an important issue not only because it undermines the democratic ideals that informed the development of PES, but because it may represent a powerful form of disenfranchisement. Thus, while non-participation in PES can be seen as an important issue, this review has also shown that the perspectives of those who do not participate in PES remain underexplored. Drawing on research about patterns of participation in PES in the UK and more detailed research on non-participation carried out in North America, this chapter described what we already know about non- participation in PES: that it involves issues of social position, cultural background and perceived relevance. These conclusions were highlighted again by a review of sociocultural studies of science education which also suggested social position and relevance were key issues for educational engagement with science. Some have argued that a research focus on demographic characteristics, like ethnicity, is not always useful (Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2010). For example, in relation specifically to PES, Xxxx (2009) has argued that demographic factors (described here as social positions) are too widely used as causal explanations of participation and cannot explain such patterns. Indeed, Xxxx has argued that cultural participation varies amongst both African Americans and White Americans and suggested that personality factors, such as whether a person enjoyed facilitating the learning of others, or exploring subjects for themselves, had more of an effect on participation than ethnicity (2009). Focusing on personality rather than social position is problematic, however, in...