Cultivating Latine Empowerment in STEM: How Culturally Responsive Mentor Strategies Foster Empowerment in After-School Programs

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Frameworks of Empowerment: Enabling Youth and Families to Take Action through Out of School Time Experiences

Abstract

Latine youth face systemic barriers in STEM, including underrepresentation, deficit-based instruction, and racialized stereotypes. This study investigates how culturally responsive mentoring within Math CEO, an after-school program, fosters youth empowerment. Drawing on interviews with Latine youth and their mentors, we identified six mentor strategies that helped students feel seen, heard, and empowered: (1) encouraging student independence, (2) providing choice and voice, (3) upholding high expectations, (4) modeling confidence and a positive mindset, (5) promoting student expression and respect, and (6) using positive reinforcement. These strategies align with Zimmerman’s empowerment theory and illustrate how simple interactions can alter students’ view of themselves and their futures. This study contributes practical tools for designing after-school math programs that empower historically marginalized youth.

Authors

• Stella Kiyomi Rabago, University of California - Irvine

• Taylor Michelle Wycoff, University of California - Irvine

• Guadalupe Rosas, University of California - Irvine

• Sandra D. Simpkins, University of California - Irvine