Children’s perceptions of scientists and their work: The ‘Draw a Scientist’ Test in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Sampling students in the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi, we explored possible stereotypes of scientists and their work which may exist, and which may impact upon future career aspirations. Characteristics of scientists were identified and analysed from 234 drawings collected from upper primary aged students. Students tended to draw youthful scientists of their own gender, with stereotypical characteristics, such as wearing a lab coat, performing chemistry experiments and working alone in a lab. Unexpectedly, there were even fewer references to technology use in science than in similar studies carried out in the 1980s. We had anticipated that some elements of UAE national dress would be observed in drawings, since the majority of students were UAE Nationals, but no UAE cultural references were evident in the drawings at all. The findings suggest that work needs to be undertaken in UAE classrooms to increase perceptions of diversity of science work and scientists themselves.