Talking With Attitude: Accessing the Voices of African American Girls

• In Event: Umoja: On One Accord, the Right to Know, Think, and Aspire Among African American Girls

Abstract

While many Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) research projects and programs focus on secondary and collegiate females, few projects have a focus on African American girls at an earlier school level. Further, the perceptions and “voices” of African American girls are seldom examined to assess the impact of STEM subjects on their academic success and their exclusion from the classroom setting. This phenomenological study accessed the voices of African American girls in intermediate, and middle school settings, to examine their perceptions of multiple suspensions, STEM subjects and their recommendations for teachers and school leaders. Through an analysis of African American girls “talking with attitude,” four themes emerged: high academic aspirations, behavioral challenges in school, resistance to cultural style, and inconsistent math and science skill development.

Authors

• Gwendolyn Carol Webb, Texas A&M University

• Patricia J. Larke, Texas A&M University