Who Aspires to Be a Scientist/Who Is Allowed in Science? Science Identity as a Lens to Exploring the Political Dimension of the Nature of Science

Our purpose in this paper is to put forward an argument about both the need and the value for understanding how the constructs of science identity and the nature of science (NOS) might intersect and intertwine and offer useful insights about science participation in times of crises. Based on our knowledge and understanding of these two research areas, we maintain that science identity research has not been fully engaged in understanding how perspectives on NOS might be intersecting with the questions of who can be (or not) a scientist and who is allowed (or not) in science. In this paper, we argue that the formation of a disrupting science identity that challenges existing constructed systems of power in science, requires robust understandings of NOS that place emphasis on the socially-produced narratives about science and scientists. In doing so, we engage with the following questions: (1) How have understandings of NOS contributed to conceptualizations of who can be a scientist and who is recognized as a scientist?; (2) How have these conceptualizations contributed to producing exclusionary narratives and perpetuating inequalities in science?; and (3) How might an exploration of NOS through the lens of science identity be used to promote goals related to equity and social justice?