Discourses of scientific facticity as a ready-made set of conceptual and epistemic practices dominates the presentation of science in undergraduate education. Undergraduate students emerge from their academic experiences with an internalized discourse of science that dictates their perceptions of scientific productivity within research communities. By contrast, the discursive reality of science-in-the-making within epistemic communities of practice, as exemplified in works in the sociology of science, highlight science as interactionally accomplished within a constantly evolving epistemic culture in a community of practice. The contrasting discourses of scientific facticity and science-in-the-making intersect at the critical stage of graduate student entry into research spaces, as newcomers into these communities negotiate their membership and participation within the community. The research presented in the talk problematizes graduate student participation in research communities as resulting from the two contrasting discourses of science and indicates a need to critically evaluate foundations of upper-level undergraduate science education across disciplines, to consider undergraduate students as future participants in communities of practice. The research is aimed toward both addressing rates of attrition from Ph.D. programs in the sciences and the development of robust undergraduate science experiences to facilitate graduate student research in a future time perspective.
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