Healing From Within: Exploring Girlhood, Teaching, and STEM Through the Lens of Black Women Educators

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining STEM Education (Table 21)

Abstract

Black girls are underrepresented in gifted and honors programs, and receive little support on how to navigate the biases of STEM spaces and content. With the literature painting a sustained narrative of distress for Black girls in schools, few studies have nuanced the relationship between high-ability Black girls, Black Women Educators (BWEs), and STEM. Grounded in Black Women Feminism and trauma-informed praxis, this qualitative research study explores the experiences of eight BWE’s serving an urban elementary school. BWEs share their associated interrogations with being involved in a talent identification and development STEM program for Black girls using experiential learning. While navigating the power of self-healing and Black girlhood restoration, they reimagine how to create safe and affirming learning communities.

Authors

• Brittany Nicole Anderson, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Sydney Carroll, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Tierra M. Parsons, University of North Carolina - Charlotte