Demonstration 3: The Unemployment Crisis in Bronzeville

• In Event: Out-of-School STEM Learning: Youth-Driven, Applied Data Science Addressing Needs in Their Own Communities

Abstract

Objectives/Purpose
The third presentation will again return to the Bronzeville neighborhood. This team of youth will address the issue of employment levels as it relates to public health.

Perspectives
Social Learning and Social Cognitive Career (Lent et al., 1994a, 1994b) theories scaffold the learning structure that fosters positive social interactions among youth data collectors, near-peer mentors, and adult staff coaches. Youth teams (4 high school youth) develop a goal-oriented project plan for their asset-mapping project in service to their community. MAPSCorps alumni, trained as field coordinators and data coordinators, train and mentor the teams to develop confidence, critical thinking, and self-awareness. This near-peer structure ensures ample opportunities for dialogue and as a model for community cohesion, allowing all youth participants to envision the potential to achieve equity through meaningful use of data.  

Methods/Techniques
The youth-driven research questions ask: What is the state of unemployment in the Bronzeville neighborhood? What is the state of public health in the Bronzeville neighborhood? How does unemployment correlate with public health outcomes? Using the combined datasets of the MAPSCorps neighborhood asset mapping project, the Chicago Health Atlas, and the Chicago Data Portal on unemployment, the youth team analyzed the descriptive data, visualized it, and interpreted it. Together, they determine the state of affairs in relation to the City of Chicago averages and then recommend solutions to address the linkage between unemployment and public health in the neighborhood.

Data Sources
The youth team uses the MAPSCorps neighborhood asset mapping data that they themselves contribute to during their summer programming. They then learn how to use these data in conjunction with the data in Chicago Health Atlas and the unemployment data in the Chicago Data Portal. Together, they use descriptive statistics and visualization data to assess the extent of the issue in Bronzeville compared to Chicago overall.

Results/Conclusions
“The Unemployment Crisis in Bronzeville” presentation will start with youth sharing community information about Bronzeville, identifying and analyzing unemployment levels, and sharing their learnings on the statistics regarding the physical and mental health consequences of unemployment. To frame the understanding of the data they review, the historical context and changes in Bronzeville, in particular, redlining, de-industrialization, and disinvestment will be discussed by the youth. The presentation will conclude with their proposed policy response related to an increase in employment agencies and job training.

Scholarly significance
Although common in the humanities and the arts, there is a dearth of scholarship on STEM curriculum that is youth-led. This demonstration project shows how youth can combine data science with social science skills to work through the scientific inquiry process, frame a social science argument, support the argument with data, and recommend solutions to the problem.
The direct importance of the issue to the youth’s lives and families promotes a dedication and motivation to work through challenging new skill learnings. There is good potential to engage historically underrepresented youth in STEM using this out-of-school STEM program design.

Author

• JaCoya Thompson
  Presenting Author