Reframing Access to STEM for Urban Students of Color

• In Event: 25.042 - (Re)Considering STEM Education for Social Justice and Sustainability

Abstract

Over the last decade, Blacks (non-Hispanic) and Hispanics have been underrepresented in STEM fields, with only 6% of positions being held by each, even though they comprise 11% and 14% of the total United States workforce, respectively (Beede, Julian, Khan, Lehrman, McKittrick, Langdon, & Doms, 2011). To better understand the problem, the researchers will consider this lack of access to STEM from several viewpoints, including the imperial/colonial traditions of STEM (Emdin, 2016) and the lack of urban students of color enrolled in advanced STEM courses (Whiting & Ford, 2009). Using Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth framework, which situates contemporary urban classrooms as spaces where students of color are unable to bring their full, actualized selves into the classroom, this study will interrogate the following two research questions: (1) How effective has Science GENIUS B.A.T.T.L.E.S. (Bring Attention to Transforming Teaching, Learning and Engagement in Science) been in increasing students’ interest in STEM? and (2) How do other school- and community-based programs and initiatives help to promote an increased interest in STEM?
Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. began in New York City in 2012 as a program that aimed to reframe access to STEM for urban students of color. Rooted in the five elements of Hip-Hop (rapping, deejaying, breakdancing, graffiti, and knowledge of self), Science Genius calls for an embracing of self and the community grounded in the democratic process. The program’s purpose is to provide students who have been traditionally marginalized from science with the opportunity for success by linking their passion for Hip-Hop to the learning of science (Emdin, 2010). The effectiveness of the program will be investigated through the collection of qualitative data collected from student and teacher participants in the form of classroom observations and interviews. Data will be analyzed and presented in the form of vignettes to demonstrate the program’s impact on increasing student engagement in STEM. Directors of the program will also be interviewed to uncover their understandings of the key elements that have contributed to the program’s success. This will be followed by a review and analysis of other programs whose purposes are also to increase access to and interest in STEM for urban students of color. This research is significant because it can serve as a call for an increase in such programs in the future.

Author

• George Sirrakos, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania