Learning-in-interaction against stereotypes: How high-achieving girls sustain science identities in secondary science

Despite decades of policy effort, gendered discourses that frame science as masculine continue to shape girls' access to participation, recognition, and belonging in secondary science classrooms. This study examines how high-achieving girls sustain their participation in and achievement in science while negotiating stereotype pressure through everyday interactions with teachers, peers, and families. Using a socioculturally informed Straussian grounded theory design, we analysed in-depth interviews with 20 high-performing female science-track students from a key public high school in G City, China. Analysis centered on narrated episodes of classroom talk, assessment feedback, parental messaging, and peer positioning. Through open, axial, and selective coding, we developed an interaction-centered process model with three linked components: (1) identity repositioning and cognitive schema reconstruction, (2) emotionally scaffolded resilience across family, school, and peer contexts, and (3) volitional control that stabilizes effort and reframes stereotype-related threat into task value and strategic participation. Findings show that recognition is distributed across settings: supportive school feedback and equitable participation opportunities, together with parental affirmation and counter-stereotypical role-model narratives, help girls maintain legitimacy as science learners and sustain high performance. Implications are discussed for recognition-oriented pedagogy, teacher professional development on implicit bias, and cross-context supports that sustain girls' STEM trajectories.