STEM for community transformation: Centering youth agency and interest in STEM integration

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Saturday 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Orienting to Affect, Culture, and Language in Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

To advance educational justice in STEM, this position paper introduces the Culturally Sustaining Integrated STEM (CS-iSTEM) framework, which foregrounds student agency and interest as essential to fostering transformative learning. Drawing on culturally sustaining pedagogy and critical science agency, we argue that integrating cogeneration, coalescence, and mobilization can support students in engaging STEM as a tool for community-rooted inquiry and advocacy. We explore how learning environments that legitimize diverse epistemologies, center youth interests, and position students as social advocates deepen engagement and affirm rightful presence. This work contributes to justice-oriented STEM education by offering conceptual and practical insights for how K–12 educators and researchers can support youth in leveraging STEM to address real-world issues that matter to them and their communities.

Authors

• Khanh Tran, Utah State University

• Lynn A. Bryan, Purdue University

• Selcen Guzey, Purdue University