Paving STEM Pathways With Urban Immigrant Young Adults: The Potential of STEM Outreach

• In Event: 70.066 - Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: 70.066-4 - Multicultural/Multiethnic Education: Perspectives on Latina/o and Immigrant Youth

Abstract

This paper employs critical ethnographic case study to investigate a group of urban immigrant young adults from developing countries who make/made a decision to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. The specific focus of the paper lies in understanding the impact of STEM outreach and enrichment programs and partnerships (out-of-classroom learning) on the evolution of the students’ interests, skills, and future plans. Analyzing the experiences behind these students’ trajectories into STEM, and how their participation in different out-of-school time (OST) programs and initiatives mediated STEM access and opportunity, provides novel insights into broader considerations of engaging and retaining more individuals from underserved populations in STEM, where they traditionally face high barriers to entry.

Authors

• Jeremy Benjamin Heyman, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University