Supporting the Science Academic Success of Students Who Have Been Pushed Out of Traditional Public High Schools

• In Event: Science Education Research, Remedy, and Repair: Addressing Identity, Language, and Racism Across Science Education

Abstract

Objectives
This quantitative study investigated how each of the following factors— student perception of science educators, critical science education, the student sense of agency to create knowledge, student engagement in science class, and relevance of science to the student—had an impact on student academic achievement in their class-based science courses at Xinaxtli, an effective alternative education charter school network in Southern California. This study specifically focused on students who have been “pushed out” of their traditional high schools.

Theoretical Framework
Previous studies documented the factors supporting student performance in traditional science classrooms. However, accounting for youth who have been “pushed out”, limited literature provides ways this group of students can be supported to engage and succeed in the science classroom. Considering factors that may contribute to student academic achievement, this study drew from various literature on a) student perceptions of science teachers (Authentic Caring; Valenzuela (1999)), b) relevant science pedagogy (Critical Pedagogy (Giroux, 2006)), c) relevance of science to students (Basu & Barton, 2007; McClure & Rodriguez, 2007), d) engagement in science class (Fredericks et al., 2004), and e) students’ sense of agency to create knowledge Barton et al. 2012).

Methodology & Data Sources
A quantitative structural equation modeling study was conducted at Xinaxtli using survey data. The school is a WASC-accredited, alternative, project-based educational program rooted in social justice. It consists of 18 different school sites throughout five counties in southern California. The sample consisted of only adult students from the schools. A total of 78 students participated in the study.
A conceptual model (Figure 1) was developed to analyze the survey data. The model links together the factors hypothesized to directly or indirectly affect student academic achievement in the Xinaxtli science class. The conceptual model was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Table 1 shows the key variables used to measure each factor. A stepwise algorithm was used to predict path coefficients.
Findings and Significance:
Evaluation of SEM (Figure 2 & Table 2) showed that the relevance of science to students was the only factor that directly affected student academic achievement in science class (0.275). Students' sense of agency to create knowledge in science class indirectly affected students' academic achievement in science class (0.179). Critical science education indirectly affected student academic achievement in science class for the students in this study (0.129).
This study provides a framework for STEM curriculum to re-engage youth who have previously been “pushed out” of their traditional secondary schools. This framework can also inform STEM curriculum at traditional secondary schools in the following ways:
● Culturally Relevant Science: valuing students' lived experiences and using them as a source of generative themes that can ground science content.
● Student Sense of Agency to Create Knowledge: if students feel they can engage in knowledge creation within a science classroom, then they may feel that science is a discipline that aligns with their experiences.
● Critical Science Education: knowledge is not static but constantly changing and being created. Students and educators critically analyze the science content in the reality of their community.

Author

• Anthony Peña, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona