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  • Open Access

Identity and power in physics teachers’ discourse about equity

Trà Huỳnh*

Amy D. Robertson

Lauren C. Bauman

Rachel E. Scherr

  • *Contact author: huynht29@wwu.edu
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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020128 – Published 19 September, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ynfb-rbx8

Abstract

Gutiérrez’s equity framework, derived from mathematics education research, defines equity in terms of four dimensions: access, achievement, identity, and power. Access and achievement yield outcomes that reify the status quo while identity and power transform schooling to redistribute power. We use Gutiérrez’s equity framework to study discourse about equity from 36 high school physics teachers who participated in an equity-focused professional development workshop. We found that the teachers’ equity discourse often includes aspects of the identity dimension, yet teachers tend to frame identity using what we call a deficit lens. That is, although teachers agree that student identity matters in equity work, they often treat student identity as a way to support access and achievement and as a reflection of why students are not “successful.” In Gutiérrez’s words, this means centering equity work on teaching students to “play the game.” We also found that the power dimension, which supports students in “changing the game,” tends to be rare in teachers’ discourse about equity and is often presented with varied interpretations. Our findings then suggest that teachers’ equity framings of identity and power reflect physics education scholarship and dominant narratives, which leads to the call for a collective effort to challenge and reframe identity in physics in relation to power.

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020128– Published 19 September, 2025
  • Received 17 February 2024
  • Revised 28 April 2025
  • Accepted 8 August 2025
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