Becoming a Physicist: The Roles of Research, Mindsets, and Milestones in upper-division student perceptions

TL;DR

This study explores upper-division physics students' perceptions of what it means to be a physicist, revealing diverse categories influenced by research, mindsets, and milestones, with implications for teaching practices.

Contribution

It identifies four perception categories of physicists among students and links these perceptions to goal orientations, informing how faculty can better support identity development.

Findings

Four categories of perceptions of physicists identified

Perceptions vary in exclusivity and importance of research

Students' perceptions are related to their goal orientations

Abstract

As part of a longitudinal study into identity development in upper-level physics students, a phenomenographic research method was used to examine students' perceptions of what it means to be a physicist. The results revealed four different categories of perception of what it means to be a physicist, with a clear distinction in the level of exclusivity students associate with being a physicist and differences of importance of research and its association with being a physicist. We find a relationship between students' perceptions of physicists and students' goal orientation. The paper highlights a need for faculty to not just emphasize the importance of research to students' academic development but also to further demonstrate and explain what research entails and the role it plays in a physicist's identity.