Understanding Barriers to STEM: Teachers' Insights on African American Underrepresentation

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Research Focus on Black Education Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

This study aims to develop a measurement instrument to explore Middle and High School mathematics and science teachers' beliefs about the underrepresentation of African American students in STEM fields. The instrument development involved five stages: (1) constructing an initial item pool through literature review and coding teachers' statements, (2) validating the items via expert review, (3) pilot testing with additional participants, (4) conducting reliability analysis on pilot data, and (5) performing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify underlying belief structures. Fifty-three surveys were completed by African American teachers. Results from EFA revealed four key factors: Access and Resources, Role Models and Representation, Bias and Discrimination, and Curriculum and Pedagogy. Reliability analyses supported the instrument's consistency.

Authors

• Onder Koklu, Florida Gulf Coast University

• Peter Ndiangui, Florida Gulf Coast University