Article

Nurturing the Capital Within: A Qualitative Investigation of Black Women and Girls in STEM Summer Programs

June 2020
Urban Education 58(4):004208592092622

DOI:10.1177/0042085920926225

Authors:

Kennesaw State University

Using Yosso’s community cultural wealth as a theoretical lens, we sought to understand how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) summer programs cultivated the interest and participation of Black women and girls in these disciplines. The study drew primarily from the interviews of 14 Black women and girls from two case studies investigating the experiences of students of color in summer STEM programs. Findings revealed the programs were influential in enhancing participants’ existing aspirational, social, and familial capital garnered through inter- and intrapersonal attributes. We also advance the term program families to describe a distinctive fictive kinship fostered through participation in these programs.

The Role of Organized Activities in Supporting Youth Social Capital Development: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Article

Full-text available

May 2024

Social capital provides young people with a web of supportive relationships that can be leveraged in pursuit of education, career, and life goals. Organized activities, an umbrella term for extracurricular activities, after-school programs, and youth development programs, are important developmental contexts for building social capital. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the developmental pathway through which social capital development occurs in organized activities. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted using 33 articles that met inclusion criteria across five databases (e.g., ERIC, PsycINFO) between June 2022 and May 2023. Thematic analysis was used to identify malleable organized activity features that act as levers for social capital promotion. Seven thematically aligned features were identified, including (1) organizational partnerships, (2) organizational supporting structures, (3) relationally strong climate, (4) staff mindsets and skills, (5) youth mindsets and skills, (6) increased social capital opportunities, and (7) increased social capital activation. These seven themes were used to construct an empirically-grounded model that posits a process through which organized activities support youth social capital development. Implications for intentionally strengthening organized activities’ capacity to support youth social capital are discussed.

Othermothering in a Community-Led Afterschool Program

Article

Nov 2023

We examine a community-led afterschool program designed by Black women for Black youth from a low-income community through the lens of othermothering. Through interviews and focus groups exploring a multi-year community–university partnership in a large northeastern city, we find that the Black women staff-centered community needs to drive programming activities, provided wraparound supports for families, and created a familial environment within the program. We argue that these practices fostered a culturally relevant afterschool program that was driven by the knowledge and practices of Black women in the community. Supporting minoritized communities to enact their own culturally relevant afterschool programs may lead to the establishment of unique programs that view communities as assets instead of sites of domination.

Notes on Being a Black Woman in STEM: A Review of Existing Research Concerning the Experiences of Black Women Pursuing Undergraduate STEM Degrees

Chapter

Feb 2024

Krystal L. Williams

This chapter focuses on the experiences of Black undergraduate women, with an emphasis on factors that hinder and help to promote their successful progression to STEM degrees. In doing so, the chapter explores existing research concerning how their experiences may be shaped by their gender and race, as well as the combination thereof. The chapter begins with some important contextual information to frame the discussion of literature that follows. This entails defining STEM as a concept, as well as a discussion of the national STEM policy agenda. The second section of the chapter provides a thematic review of current higher education literature concerning Black women’s experiences in STEM, detailing frameworks that are common in the literature and covering issues such as the complexities of race-gendered stereotypes in STEM, along with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Black women’s STEM experiences. The third section of the chapter proposes a conceptual framework that combines the literature concerning Black women’s challenges pursuing STEM degrees and their sources of support to better understand how both can ultimately impact their STEM success. The chapter closes by highlighting important limitations in existing research and offering suggestions for future work.

Community and Culture: Black Women’s Recollections of Their Experiences in College Transition Programs

Article

Nov 2023
J COLL STUDENT DEV

College transition programs offer early access to the collegiate experience, aid in the adjustment of students transitioning to college, and facilitate positive adjustments for Black women in their early college years. Less is known about whether Black women identify these programs as having a lasting influence on their college degree programs and careers. This critical oral history study of 24 Black alumnae contemplates their recollections of how college transition programs influenced their collegiate journeys within predominantly White and historically Black institutions. The Black alumnae emphasized the long-term importance of asset-based community cultural wealth approaches in transition programs that offered a head start to college. The alumnae noted that the transition programs provided forms of navigational, aspirational, and social capital. At PWIs, transition programs emphasized academic skills and social networks. At HBCUs, transition programs offered inclusion in the familial ethos of those campuses. In both institutional types, the women enjoyed gaining confidence and access to a hidden curriculum, which they retained throughout college and into their careers and lives.

High school Black girls’ experiences in a STEM after‐school program: A qualitative case study

Article

Nov 2023

Miranda Mullins Allen

Due to limited research on Black girls in science education, this study focuses on the forms of capital Black girls cultivated through their participation in a community‐based STEM after‐school program. The study drew from the interviews and a focus group session of 10 Black girls and investigated their formal and informal experiences in science. Using intersectionality and community cultural wealth as theoretical perspectives, findings revealed that multiple forms of capital (aspirational, social, navigational, and familial) were fostered and interconnected throughout the program. The intersections of race and gender were also prominent contributions to the multidimensional, nuanced ways Black girls experience and flourish in STEM education. Implications and recommendations for future research on Black girls in science are discussed.

“The Work I Do Matters”: Cultivating a STEM Counterspace for Black Girls through Social-Emotional Development and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2023

Central to culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) is the notion that we sustain what we love by decentering the white gaze. Elevating CSP and the five core social-emotional learning competencies, we honed in on how Black and Brown girls developed knowledge and skills to manage their emotions, achieve goals, show empathy, and maintain healthy relationships within the context of a single-gender summer STEM program. These opportunities to engage in critical conversations to learn, unlearn, and relearn, while showing up as their full and authentic selves, are not often afforded in traditional STEM classes. This paper focuses on dialogue and interactions amongst four program participants—Samira, Rita, Brandy, and Joy. Critical discourse analysis was employed to challenge the dominance and reproduction of discourses by examining social contexts and systemic structures that they addressed in conversation. Findings revealed the importance of cultivating trusting and intentional learning spaces for Black and Brown girls to engage in open dialogue and critique oppressive discourses. It also displayed the significance of leaning into difficult conversations and pluralism to help adolescent girls realize the complexities of culture while also promoting joy and social-emotional development. Creating spaces that affirm Black and Brown girls matter; their contributions and work that they do matter.

Reimagining informal STEM learning opportunities to foster STEM identity development in underserved learners

Article

Full-text available

May 2023

Informal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning opportunities offer great potential to position learners as insiders to STEM and to foster their positive STEM identity development. Despite their goal to create equal insights and access to STEM learning for all, however, these informal STEM learning opportunities often fail to reach underserved students, hindering their STEM identity development and perpetuating inequity. To address this issue, out-of-school programs need to be designed with underserved students in mind, and concepts, as well as practical approaches that foster STEM identity development, need to be identified. In this article, we review 13 peer-reviewed publications that investigate informal STEM learning opportunities for underserved learners at a young age. We synthesize concepts such as competence, performance, recognition, supportive relationships, sense of belonging, agency, interest, and attitudes that influence underserved learners’ STEM identity development, and corresponding practical approaches such as personal relationships, role models, authentic settings, hands-on-activities, and non-stereotypical structures fostering agency. We also discuss theoretical frameworks for underserved learners’ STEM identity development. We suggest that recognition, a sense of belonging, supportive relationships, and agency play important roles in fostering STEM identity development in underserved students. The paper concludes with recommendations to change traditional patterns in informal and formal STEM education to empower underserved students to construct their own STEM identity as agentic individuals.

Marginality and Mattering: Inequality in STEM Majors’ Relationships With Higher Education Practitioners

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Sep 2022

Higher education practitioners are a wide-ranging group of professionals often responsible for implementing programs and services that support student success. In this qualitative study, we examine the nature of student–practitioner relationships among a multiracial sample of 39 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college seniors to address three questions: (a) How do STEM students describe their relationships with practitioners on campus? (b) In what ways, if any, do student–practitioner relationships influence STEM students’ feelings of marginality and/or mattering in STEM? and (c) To what extent do STEM students have different experiences based on their racial/ethnic identities? We employ a cross-case study analysis approach, contrasting the experiences of majority-status (e.g., White and Asian/Asian American) and minoritized-status (e.g., Black/African American and Latinx) students within STEM contexts. Our findings show clear differences regarding how students describe their interactions with practitioners based on racial/ethnic background, as well as how student–practitioner relationships impact students’ sense of mattering and marginality in STEM. We conclude with implications for research and practice to address the persistent structural issues affecting STEM college students.

We See the Stars: Young Black Girls’ Creative Imaginings of Intersectional STEM Futures through Art

Article

Jul 2022

Jennifer D. Turner

Inspired by Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African American woman astronaut, this essay employs an intersectional framework to illuminate how young Black girls, eight to ten years old, created visual artwork that foregrounded their embodied STEM knowledge, creativity, values, and innovation. For these girls, visual art served as sites of refusal where they rejected white male-centric visions of STEM and (re)claimed their rightful science and math futures through the knowledge, confidence, and passion within their BlackGirl bodies. Implications for improving STEM education for and nurturing the intersectional STEM aspirations and futures of young Black girls are discussed.

Uneven Playing Field: Examining Preparation for Technical Interviews in Computing and the Role of Cultural Experiences

Conference Paper

Jul 2021

Cultivating Graduate STEM Pathways: How Alliance-Based STEM Enrichment Programs Broker Opportunity for Students of Color

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To understand how higher education institutions broker graduate opportunities for Students of Color (SOCs) in STEM, we employ a single case study of a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) alliance. Drawing primarily from student interviews and informed by Small’s (2006) organizational brokerage theory, our findings illuminate how 1) alliance-based STEM enrichment programs (SEPs) bridge social capital via interorganizational networks and 2) how SEP instability creates barriers to building the trust that is central to the brokerage process. We conclude with recommendations for future research and practice.

Serving the Underserved Amid COVID-19: The Case of a Virtual, Culturally Responsive Summer Engineering Camp

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Jan 2023

Factors Influencing Science Career Intention: The Power of Counterspace

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Full-text available

Oct 2024
Innovat High Educ

The current study examined how participation in an undergraduate research experience (URE) that provides a counterspace affects sociocognitive factors (science self-efficacy, science identity, and academic self-concept) and how they, in turn, may shape science career intention in a sample of STEM undergraduate students. STEM majors from a public university in California completed surveys from 2017 to 2020 and rated their science identity, science self-efficacy, academic self-concept, and their intention to pursue a science-related research career. Structural equation modeling shows that URE participants reported higher (a) science self-efficacy, (b) science identity, and (c) academic self-concept relative to students who did not participate in the URE. While there was an indirect effect of science self-efficacy on science career intention mediated by science identity, higher science self-efficacy and academic self-concept were negatively associated with the intention to pursue a science career. MANOVA results suggest that URE participants fared better than non-URE students in all outcomes across all sub-groups. These results highlight the importance of an identity-focused UREs and the counterspace it fosters among STEM majors from diverse backgrounds.

Program: A focused, 5-year effort to increase the number of African American, Hispanic/Latino(a), Native American (AHLN) 7th-grade students who are academically prepared to take algebra

Conference Paper

Feb 2022

A Missing Piece of the Puzzle? Exploring Whether Science Capital and STEM Identity are Associated with STEM Study at University

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Full-text available

Jan 2024

Internationally, there are concerns that more needs to be done to address the inequalities in participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects at the degree level. In response, research focused on better understanding what influences young people’s STEM participation has focused on a range of factors. This paper contributes to the existing research with an analysis of how “science capital” and “STEM identity” relate to STEM participation. We draw on data from 3310 young people aged 21–22 who had undertaken an undergraduate degree, 523 of whom studied a STEM subject. We found that science capital and STEM identity were statistically significantly related to studying a STEM degree (with science capital being weakly and STEM identity strongly associated with STEM study at university). Adopting a Bourdieusian lens, we discuss what our findings mean for higher education and what more could be done to support students, especially those who are currently under-represented in STEM, such as through better recognising and developing their science capital and supporting their sense of belonging in STEM.

Lemieux, A. (2024). “Back then it was only men who worked in these kind of fields”: Observing little sparks through the prism of affect and gender in maker literacies research. Reading Research Quarterly, 59(3), 282-297.

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READ RES QUART

Amélie Lemieux

This article delves into moments of affect, puncturing the exchanges between an early career 2SLGBTQ+ researcher and a group of Canadian adolescents , mostly composed of girls, who developed a ClayMation video to take the pulse of emerging vibrancies in maker literacies. Among these dynamisms came the matter of gender in the research project. Adopting a dynamic framework that builds on affect theory coupled with queer phenomenology to frame an affective researcher positionality, the author addresses implications of de/constructing gender with/in maker literacies work. To situate her queer positionality, she explores the possibility of coexisting truths in the relationalities that took place in space-multiplicities of the makerspace, and during moments where she was driving to the research site, going home, taking part in conversations, or drafting notes. Related student data are presented through posthuman vignettes comprised of situated dynamisms between recorded open-ended interviews, adolescent maps inspired by Hamon's situated geographies, field notes, and digital compositions. Implications for research and practice include: ways of becoming-with data otherwise and attending to affective phenomena in the context of maker literacies, with the overall aim of de/constructing gender binaries. The author concludes with research and practical implications for literacies work, specifically in co-constructing methodologies and designs that help reimagine more equitable maker literacies futures.

Talent denied: Equity and excellence gaps in STEMM

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Nov 2023
ANN NY ACAD SCI

In principle, there could be STEMM talent everywhere if there were sufficient and adequate opportunities and learning resources everywhere. The reality, however, is that the likelihood of developing one's talent in STEMM is tied to membership in social groups. In this contribution, we explore the implications of this statement with multiple examples for different social groups and for different stages of talent development. We propose an educational framework model for analyzing equity gaps in STEMM talent development that identifies and systematizes the unequal and inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities as the proximal cause of the emergence of such equity gaps. Furthermore, we discuss important aspects for closing equity gaps in STEMM talent development. We argue that—similar to public health approaches—the focus in establishing equity in STEMM talent development should be on prevention rather than intervention. We discuss the importance of the cooperation of societal subsystems and argue for the use of adequate methods of disparity detection for creating equal opportunities. We also outline why preventive strategies are crucial for the creation of resource parity and explain why outcome standards should be considered obligatory.

Closing STEM opportunity gaps through critical approaches to teaching and learning for Black youth

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Nov 2023

Equity for Students Requires Equity for Teachers: The Inextricable Link between Teacher Professionalization and Equity-Centered Science Classrooms

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There is an urgent call for science and STEM teachers to incorporate practices for equity-centered environments, social justice-orientations, criticality and other practices that promote system change. Yet this demand occurs against the backdrop marginalization of teachers’ from having a say in the planning, teaching, and assessments in their own classrooms as teachers are stripped of agency, authority, and autonomy. We argue that these two simultaneous trends in science and STEM education—the drive for equity-centered environments and the systemic devaluation of teachers’ expertise—are incompatible. Realizing the goal of science classrooms that support equity-centered and social justice-oriented learning requires that teachers have equal voice in important decisions on matters that impact their day-to-day actions, which includes the power to determine goals and practices. This means dismantling some of the power structures in the educational system that disenfranchise teachers’ from making decisions based on their own knowledge, and their own goals for learning, particularly goals for social-justice and equity. In this article we describe pedagogical frameworks for making transformational change in science classrooms and in wider society and show how each framework is dependent on equity for teachers. We end with implications for this shift—moving toward a system where teachers have equal power—that is an essential part of creating science classrooms as sites of equity, social justice and science learning.

Long-Term Impact of Teacher Professional Development on Black Female Students' Engagement in STEM

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Negotiating Doctoral STEM Studies: An In-depth Look at the Black Woman Impostor

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Aug 2021

Marsha Simon

This qualitative study investigated how the impostor syndrome influenced Black women's experiences pursuing terminal degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at a research institution in the southwestern United States. As a Black female researcher engaging with participants through one-on-one interviews, I used Collins's (2006) Black Feminist Thought (BFT) tenets to collect and analyze data to understand the participants' doctoral journey. Race and gender regularly intersected to shape how they experienced the impostor syndrome during their doctoral journey. Findings revealed participants with low or moderate impostor feelings tended to have positive experiences while those who had frequent or intense impostor feelings had a more tumultuous academic journey. This study does not only highlight the need for continued research on reducing the impostor syndrome's influence on doctoral women in STEM fields but challenges higher education institutions to make concerted efforts to address their needs.

Improving Access to STEM for Girls of Color through Community Programs

Article

Jun 2022

Background: Our study examines community youth workers’ perceptions, attitudes, and aspirations regarding the development of STEM programming for girls of color gathered through a focus-group discussion embedded in a professional development workshop. Results: Drawing upon these conversations, we learned that they perceived themselves as not belonging in STEM and as focused primarily on community mental health concerns. Although many of the workers commented about being unprepared to plan or offer STEM programming, they suggested that a collective community effort could be a worthwhile approach for increasing STEM programming for girls of color. Results also revealed that the middle school girls of color being served by the community agencies represented in the sample corroborated these results as they too perceived themselves as not belonging in STEM. However, when probed about how they wanted to spend their out-of-school time, many of the girls who asserted lack of interest or belonging in STEM suggested everyday activities that were, indeed, STEM-based. Conclusions: This pattern of results suggests that persuading girls of color to pursue STEM-related activities outside-of-school requires a reframing that considers their existing interests.

Valuing the Aspirations of the Community: The Origins of a Community–University Partnership

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Jul 2022

Universities are increasingly prioritizing engagement and collaboration with their local communities. While such partnerships can be mutually beneficial, they can often perpetuate and exacerbate power differentials, particularly when the community partners belong to racially minoritized groups. This qualitative paper examines the founding of a community–university partnership between a Black, low-income community and a predominantly White university. Through the theoretical framework of aspirational capital, we find that valuing the experiences and aspirations of the community helped establish a more equitable partnership forged to support a community-led, culturally relevant after-school program. Centering the aspirations of Black community members and the epistemologies of the Black women on the program staff also served to acknowledge and address power imbalances at the founding stages of the partnership. Recognizing and valuing the aspirational capital of community members also positively impacted the university-based staff’s ability to function as boundary spanners between the university and community who could adequately articulate the desires and needs of program staff. We argue that by recognizing and valuing the aspirational capital already present in low-income Black communities, universities can create more equitable partnerships for positive social change.

focus towards goal attainment

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Feb 2022

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Graduate Student-Led Transfer Student Mentorship Program

Preprint

Full-text available

Apr 2022

The undergraduate transfer process has well-documented challenges, especially for those who identify with groups histori-cally excluded from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Because transfer students gain later access to university networking and research opportunities than first-time-in-college students, transfer students inter-ested in pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees in chemistry have a significantly shortened timeline in which to conduct re-search, a crucial component in graduate school applications. Mentorship programs have previously been instituted as effec-tive platforms for the transferal of community cultural wealth within large institutions. We report here the design, institu-tion, and assessment of a near-peer mentorship program for transfer students, the Transfer Student Mentorship Program (TSMP). Founded in 2020 by graduate students, the TSMP pairs incoming undergraduate transfer students with current graduate students for personalized mentorship and conducts discussion-based seminars to foster peer relationships. The transfer student participants have access to a fast-tracked networking method during their first transfer semester that can serve as a route for acquiring undergraduate research positions. Program efficacy was assessed via surveys investigating the rates of research participation and sense of belonging of transfer students. We observed that respondents that participated in the program experienced an overall improvement in these measures compared to respondents that did not. Having been entirely designed, instituted, and led by graduate students, we anticipate that this program will be highly tractable to other universities looking for actionable methods to improve their students’ persistence in pursuing STEM degrees.

A focused, 5-year effort to increase the number of African American, Hispanic/Latino(a), Native American (AHLN) 7th-grade students who are academically prepared to take algebra

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Feb 2022

Saundra Johnson Austin

While research on the impact of after-school programs is not new, there is limited research of the combined use of online mathematics tools to increase the knowledge and skill level of African American, Hispanic, Latino(a), and Native American students coupled with qualitative feedback from mentoring, parental involvement, and university-based cultural capital. Using the online tool Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), this mixed methods study explores the implementation of a university-industry, hybrid model for African American, Hispanic, Latino(a), and Native American students to take algebra by the 7th grade. With the aid of culturally relevant science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pedagogy, our findings indicate that time spent, and topics learned in the mentor-parental based Algebra by 7th Grade (Ab7G) for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade cohorts to date, were factors that contributed to the cumulative improvement of students’ mastery of math concepts with accelerated growth of 1.25 academic years ahead of the student’s current grade level. This paper shares a mixed methods methodology, which aims to increase math proficiency, algebra readiness, and opportunities for African American, Hispanic, Latino(a), and Native American students in elementary school. The long-range goals are for AHLN students to overcome systemic educational barriers and begin focused mathematics preparation, which will allow them to pursue rigorous STEM-related courses in high school.

Themed Issue: #SayHerName: Anchoring Black Feminist Epistemologies at the Crux of Postsecondary STEM Culture

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022

This conceptual paper presents our position on why the field of postsecondary science, technology,engineering, and mathematics education (STEM) should reorient and anchor diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in Black feminist frames. Reviewing the culture of science and Black feminisms, we propose a reimagined space that centers Black women’s ontological experiences and epistemologies as a means to fully embrace and embark on a field that is justice oriented and ultimately benefits all. Through this reimagined perspective of postsecondary STEM, we consider how embracing, emboldening, celebrating, and promoting Black women creates opportunities to do the same for everyone else in a truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse fashion.

(Re)creating family and reinforcing pedagogies of the home: How familial capital manifests for Students of Color pursuing STEM majors

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Oct 2021

Utilizing Yosso’s concept of familial capital, we analyzed the narratives of 30 Students of Color pursuing STEM majors at five Northeastern United States universities to understand how familial capital manifests as students navigate postsecondary education. Our findings suggest that students extend cultural notions of family to their relationships with peers, staff, and administrators to (re)create familial relationships and spaces on campus that serve as conduits for activating students’ familial capital. Furthermore, we found that familial capital manifests through the ways in which familial relationships on campus transmit and reinforce pedagogies of the home that foster a commitment to communities: establishing meaningful personal relationships with others, fostering and ensuring a sense of community responsibility and well-being, and working towards community resilience.

Promoting Equity by Scaling Up Summer Engineering Experiences: A Retrospective Reflection on Tensions and Tradeoffs

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May 2021

Measuring science identity in informal settings through citizen science: it’s complicated

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Apr 2025

“I’ll Do Some Soul Searching”: Navigating a Black Student–Teacher Relationship Within the Sociopolitical Terrain of Urban Science Education

Article

Dec 2024

Using a multitiered framework, embedded in anti-Blackness, this qualitative case study centers a Black woman teacher and Black girl who were subjugated to multiple layers of oppression in a middle school science classroom. Findings revealed that systemic pressures, like standardized testing and school choice, hindered genuine learning. The teacher-participant felt compelled to prioritize test preparation over holistic education and noted how the science fair exacerbated racial inequities while midyear teacher reassignments fractured student–teacher relationships. This study underscores the need to name sociopolitical and historical factors to address structural and systemic inequities in urban science education.

The career and mental health experiences of Black women in STEM

Article

Aug 2024

Black women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industries and are presented with unique career and mental health experiences as a result. This study used social cognitive career theory and thematic analysis to explore the career and mental health experiences of ( N = 11) Black women in STEM. The findings include four themes: (1) the influence of a STEM career on mental health; (2) the STEM career journey; (3) self‐efficacy and self‐motivation to succeed; and (4) hopes for Black girls and women in STEM. Implications for counselors who work with Black women in STEM are discussed.

Diary Study on Microaggressions, Identity Shifting, and Mental Health among Black Women in STEM Graduate Programs During COVID-19: The Mediating Role of Perceived Supervisor Support: Microaggressions, Identity Shifting, and Mental Health among Black Women in STEM Graduate Programs During COVID-19

Article

Dec 2023

Black women in STEM graduate programs may develop coping strategies, such as identity shifting, to minimize gendered racial stressors, especially in the context of COVID-19. Identity shifting is the process of altering one’s speech, behavior, perspective, and appearance. Past studies found a positive association between identity shifting and mental health outcomes among young Black women; however, research on the mental health of Black women in STEM graduate programs is limited. The present study utilized a Black feminist standpoint theoretical framework to examine daily experiences of gendered racial microaggressions (GRM), identity shifting, perceived supervisor support (PSS), and mental health outcomes among 102 Black women in STEM graduate programs. Participants completed online daily questionnaires for 10 workdays using Qualtrics. We hypothesized that identity shifting and GRM would positively predict anxiety and depressive symptoms. Additionally, we hypothesized that PSS would significantly mediate the relationship between GRMs and mental health outcomes. Results showed that women with higher experiences of GRM and shifting reported more depressive and anxiety symptoms. PSS did not mediate the relationship between GRM and mental health outcomes. The results of this study can be used to develop culturally tailored support programs to create inclusive environments for Black women in academia.

Notes on Being a Black Woman in STEM: A Review of Existing Research Concerning the Experiences of Black Women Pursuing Undergraduate STEM Degrees

Chapter

Full-text available

Sep 2023

Krystal L. Williams

What counts as STEM , and does it matter?

Article

Oct 2023

Background To accurately measure students' science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career interest, researchers must get inside the ‘black box’ to understand students' conceptualizations of STEM careers. Aims The aim of Study 1 was to explore whether students' conceptualizations of STEM included medical careers. The aim of Study 2 was to explore whether predictors of STEM career interest (e.g., gender and motivation) varied by STEM definition (inclusion/exclusion of medical careers). Samples In Study 1, the sample was US college students ( N = 125) who were mostly White (80%). In Study 2, the sample was US 10th‐grade high school students ( N = 455) who were mostly Black (79%). Methods In Study 1, students completed an online questionnaire. In Study 2, students completed various measures of math achievement, motivation (science and math expectancies of success, interest and importance value) and career interest with an importance. Results In Study 1, medical careers were less often classified as STEM careers than traditional STEM careers, but more often classified as STEM than non‐STEM careers. In Study 2, science importance value was the only motivational predictor of students' STEM+Medicine career interest, and no motivation constructs predicted traditional STEM career interest. Boys expressed greater interest in traditional STEM careers, while girls expressed greater interest in STEM+Medicine careers. Conclusions Students' conceptualizations of STEM are not binary. Thus, we recommend researchers are explicit about their definition of STEM with study participants, in their coding and in their publications.

Identity-Centered STEM Curricula for Black Girls: An Intersectional Intervention for Black Girl Joy

Chapter

Aug 2023

This chapter presents data from Black Girls Becoming Summer Research Institute (BGB), a two-week summer residential program for rising seventh and eighth grade Black girls at Vanderbilt University. The program was intentionally designed with Black girlhood celebration and joy as its centripetal force—all instructors, chaperones, volunteers, and even the photographer were Black women. The girls spent two weeks engaging in STEAM workshops that also supported their socio-emotional development while developing academic literacies. Using intersectionality and Black girlhood as lenses for understanding the various learning experiences, the authors present narratives that reclaim educational spaces in Black girls' own images. In so doing, this chapter serves as one model for higher education administrators seeking to expand their STEM footprint within their community as well as researchers interested in the research impacts on student learning outcomes from STEM-related programming.

“The lab isn't life”: Black engineering graduate students reprioritize values at the intersection of two pandemics

Article

Apr 2023

Background Black engineering graduate students represent a critical and understudied population in engineering education. Gaining an understanding of the lived experiences of Black engineering graduate students while they are simultaneously weathering two pandemics, COVID‐19 and systemic racism, is of paramount importance. Purpose/Hypothesis Black engineering graduate students hold a unique duality, as both Black people in the United States and Black graduate students in US engineering programs that espouse white supremacist ideals. Their real‐world experiences necessitate understanding, and this paper highlights the related impact on the students themselves, their adaptations to the pandemics, and how those adaptations relate to and affect their support needs and navigation of their engineering academic environments. Design/Method An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach was combined with community‐based participatory action research and was situated in Boykin's Triple Quandary. A family check‐in was conducted with 10 Black engineering graduate students enrolled in doctoral programs across the country to delve deep into their lived experience as a cultural community. Results Findings include an emergent framework of Black engineering graduate student values in response to the pandemics. These values aligned with the Black Cultural Ethos, demonstrating an adoption of collectivistic cultural values in times of crises. Further, COVID‐19 and systemic racism differentially impacted Black engineering graduate students and, thus, the manifestations of their values. Conclusion For institutions to be able to effectively support their Black engineering graduate students, they must gain awareness of the students' experiences, values, and needs, in general, and amid crises specifically. The findings presented here provide a critical window into this information.

Themed Issue: Black Males in STEM: The [NAME OF STEM SUMMER PROGRAM] Way: From STEM Summer Program Participants to Professors

Article

Jan 2023

Many pre-college programs have been created to try to increase the number of Black professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, few studies have enabled former Black/African American male program participants to share personal narratives on the long-term benefits and burdens from such STEM interventions. We use a critical collaborative auto-ethnographic approach to highlight our journeys from being STEM summer program participants to becoming college professors in engineering and mathematics. We provide in-depth details about our past participation in Wright State University's former Science, Technology, and Engineering Preparatory Program (Wright STEPP). We discuss people inside and outside of the program who provided us with the community cultural wealth that propelled us into academic STEM roles: family, K-12 teachers, college faculty and staff, and classmates.

A Pilot Graduate Student-Led Near-Peer Mentorship Program for Transfer Students Provides a Supportive Network at an R1 Institution

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2022

The undergraduate transfer process has well-documented challenges, especially for those who identify with groups historically excluded from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Because transfer students gain later access to university networking and research opportunities than first-time-in-college students, transfer students interested in pursuing postbaccalaureate degrees in chemistry have a significantly shortened timeline in which to conduct research, a crucial component in graduate school applications. Mentorship programs have previously been instituted as effective platforms for the transfer of community cultural wealth within large institutions. We report here the design, institution, and assessment of a near-peer mentorship program for transfer students, the Transfer Student Mentorship Program (TSMP). Founded in 2020 by graduate students, the TSMP pairs incoming undergraduate transfer students with current graduate students for personalized mentorship and conducts discussion-based seminars to foster peer relationships. The transfer student participants have access to a fast-tracked networking method during their first transfer semester that can serve as a route for acquiring undergraduate research positions. Program efficacy was assessed via surveys investigating the rates of research participation and sense of belonging of transfer students. We observed that respondents that participated in the program experienced an overall improvement in these measures compared to respondents who did not. Having been entirely designed, instituted, and led by graduate students, we anticipate that this program will be highly tractable to other universities looking for actionable methods to improve their students’ persistence in pursuing STEM degrees.

The Voice of One to the Voices of Many: The Story of a Black Girl in STEM

Article

Jan 2022

Shihadah M. Saleem

In this article, I take the reader along on my journey as a professional Black woman from Queens, New York, who chose a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and education. In this paper, I identify many parallels in the experiences of four students engaged in STEM, through the lens of culturally responsive and sustaining education. I then discuss how these four teenage girls' individual experiences and thoughts converged, due to their participation in a STEM-based summer program. In this narrative, readers will discover how curiosity about STEM, along with sufficient education, determination, and support, can impact the lives of girls, their families, and communities. It also shines a light on the polarization experienced by Black girls and women in education. In the paper, I also reflect on and advise how girls and young professionals can utilize tools and influential people to embrace cultural differences, establish multiple measures of success, and focus on individual ability in order to sustain the stamina and rigor needed to pursue a career in STEM and education.

Black Women, White Coats: Black Women Undergraduate Students' Persistence to Pursue Healthcare Careers

Article

Jan 2022

In this qualitative, participatory action research study, we examine how six Black women undergraduate students develop, cultivate, and sustain their healthcare career aspirations while examining challenges Black women undergraduate students experience during their pursuit of a healthcare career. Using community cultural wealth to frame our study, we collected two interviews per participant along with participant-generated photographs. We found that student participants experienced multiple forms of oppression, financial challenges, and lack of access to academic resources, but they were able to persist through support from family, faculty, and peers, along with faith-based practices and creative arts. Findings provide insights for higher education leaders, STEM and health sciences faculty, and the healthcare industry to advance equity for Black women pursuing healthcare careers.

Affirming and Nurturing Students’ Cultural Wealth to Enhance Self-efficacy: Examination of Urban High School Students’ Lived Experiences in a STEM-Medicine Pipeline Program

Article

Jan 2022
URBAN EDUC

Embracing students’ cultural assets is critical in facilitating self-growth and development at the secondary level, especially among minoritized students interested in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine/health (STEM-M) careers. Using sociocultural and community cultural wealth (CCW) lenses, longitudinal data among 23 students or 53 semi-structured interviews were analyzed to understand how their participation in an extramural academic program stimulated their self-efficacy. Findings revealed how the program nurtured students’ cultural wealth while promoting their learning, engagement, persistence, and empowerment. Strengthening self-efficacy through the affirmation of cultural assets and through asset-based frameworks can enhance students’ academic and career goals.

“We, as Parents, Do Have a Voice”: Learning from Community-Based Programs Effectively Engaging Parents in Urban Communities

Article

Dec 2021
URBAN EDUC

Utilizing Yosso’s community cultural wealth framework as a theoretical lens, we sought to examine how nontraditional, community-based family engagement programs impacted adult family members’ thoughts and actions about engagement with their children's schools. The study drew primarily from the interviews, observations, and document analysis of two nontraditional family engagement programs in urban communities. Findings indicate that program approaches built upon and extended families’ social and navigational capitals. Educational leaders can more meaningfully engage urban families by learning from and incorporating practices implemented by the programs we examine and discuss in this article.

No Disrespect: A Womanist Critique of Respectability Discourses in Extracurricular Programming for Black Girls

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2019
URBAN EDUC

This article explores how extracurricular programs designed as interventions in the criminalization of Black girls may constrict their identities. Through a womanist theoretical framework, authors investigate the discourses about Black girlhood that permeate one extracurricular initiative which aims to counter the effects of exclusionary discipline practices on Black girls. The authors find that these discourses advance respectability politics, thus reinforcing an exclusive model of ideal Black girlhood as one aligned with White, Western, Judeo-Christian, patriarchal, heterosexist, and middle-class values. Authors conclude with suggestions for how extracurricular initiatives may develop programming and curricula that are inclusive of pluralized Black girlhoods.

The Troubled Success of Black Women in STEM

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2017

We examine the experiences of 3 high-achieving Black undergraduate and graduate women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Our findings reveal that structural racism, sexism, and race-gender bias were salient in the women's STEM settings. These experiences were sources of strain, which the women dealt with in ways that demonstrate both resilience and trauma. We discuss how their experiences might motivate institutions to offer support for high-achieving students who sometimes face risks from multiple sources.

Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success: COUNTERSPACES FOR WOMEN OF COLOR IN STEM EDUCATION

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2017

Counterspaces in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are often considered “safe spaces” at the margins for groups outside the mainstream of STEM education. The prevailing culture and structural manifestations in STEM have traditionally privileged norms of success that favor competitive, individualistic, and solitary practices—norms associated with White male scientists. This privilege extends to structures that govern learning and mark progress in STEM education that have marginalized groups that do not reflect the gender, race, or ethnicity conventionally associated with STEM mainstream success, thus necessitating spaces in which the effects of marginalization may be countered. Women of color is one such marginalized group. This article explores the struggles of women of color that threaten their persistence in STEM education and how those struggles lead them to search out or create counterspaces. It also examines the ways that counterspaces operate for women of color in STEM higher education, particularly how they function as havens from isolation and microaggressions. Using a framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and intersectionality theory and drawing on interview data from 39 women of color about their STEM higher education experiences, we describe five ways in which counterspaces operate: in peer-to-peer relationships; mentoring relationships; national STEM diversity conferences; STEM and non-STEM campus student groups; and STEM departments. Whereas most research has discussed counterspaces as racially or ethnically homogeneous social groups of peers at the margins, our research found that counterspaces vary in terms of the race/ethnicity, gender, and power levels of participants. We found that counterspaces can be physical settings, as well as conceptual and ideological. Additionally, we identified counterspaces both at the margins and at the center of STEM departments. Thus, our research expands the existing understanding of the types and functions of counterspaces and broadens the definition of what locations can be and should be considered counterspaces. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 9999:XX–XX, 2017

Black Women's and Girls' Persistence in the P–20 Mathematics Pipeline: Two Decades of Children, Youth, and Adult Education Research

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2017

Like other women and girls of color in the U.S. education system, Black 1 women and girls negotiate and integrate multiple marginalized identities in mathematics. As such, this integrative review used critical race theory (CRT) and Black feminism as interpretive frames to explore factors that contribute to Black women's and girls' persistence in the mathematics pipeline and the role these factors play in shaping their academic outcomes. A synthesis of 62 research studies reveals that structural disruptions, community influences, and resilience strategies significantly influence Black women's and girls' persistence in mathematics, and that combined, these factors can culminate into a more robust mathematics identity for Black women and girls. A robust mathematics identity, in turn, is an aspect of self-actualization that is needed for persistence, engagement, and sustained success in the pursuit of a mathematics doctoral degree. New questions, paradigms, and ways of examining the experiences of Black women and girls in mathematics to advance further knowledge that will inform policy are identified and discussed as a future research agenda.

Digital Youth Divas : Exploring Narrative-Driven Curriculum to Spark Middle School Girls’ Interest in Computational Activities

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2017

Women use technology to mediate numerous aspects of their professional and personal lives. Yet, few design and create these technologies given that women, especially women of color, are grossly underrepresented in computer science and engineering courses. Decisions about participation in STEM are frequently made prior to high school, and these decisions are impacted by prior experience, interest, and sense of fit with community. Digital Youth Divas is an out-of-school program that uses narrative stories to launch the creation of digital artifacts and support non-dominant middle school girls’ STEM interests and identities through virtual and real-world community. In this article, we discuss the framework of the Digital Youth Divas environment, including our approach to blending narratives into project-based design challenges through on- and offline mechanisms. Results from our pilot year, including the co-design process with the middle school participants, suggest that our narrative-centered, blended learning program design sparks non-dominant girls’ interests in STEM activities and disciplinary identification, and has the potential to mediate girls’ sense of STEM agency, identities, and interests.

Outcomes and Processes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program: STEM PhD Completion, Sense of Community, Perceived Program Benefit, Science Identity, and Research Self-Efficacy

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2016

Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is an effective intervention for high-achieving underrepre-sented minority (URM) students; African-American Meyerhoff students are significantly more likely to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD programs than comparison students. The first of two studies in this report extends the prior research by examining levels of PhD completion for Meyerhoff (N = 479) versus comparison sample (N = 249) students among the first 16 cohorts. Entering African-American Meyer-hoff students were 4.8 times more likely to complete STEM PhDs than comparison sample students. To enhance understanding of potential mechanisms of influence, the second study used data from the 22nd (Fall 2010) to 25th (Fall 2013) cohorts (N = 109) to test the hypothesis that perceived program benefit at the end of freshman year would mediate the relationship between sense of community at the end of Summer Bridge and science identity and research self-efficacy at the end of sophomore year. Study 2 results indicated that perceived program benefit fully mediated the relationship between sense of community and both criterion measures. The findings underscore the potential of comprehensive STEM intervention programs to enhance PhD completion, and suggest mechanisms of influence.

Beyond Academic and Social Integration: Understanding the Impact of a STEM Enrichment Program on the Retention and Degree Attainment of Underrepresented Students

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2016

Tonisha B. Lane

The current study used a case study methodological approach, including document analysis, semistructured interviews, and participant observations, to investigate how a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment program supported retention and degree attainment of underrepresented students at a large, public, predominantly white institution. From this study, a model emerged that encompassed four components: proactive care, holistic support, community building, and catalysts for STEM identity development. These components encompassed a number of strategies and practices that were instrumental in the outcomes of program participants. This paper concludes with implications for practice, such as using models to inform program planning, assessment, and evaluation.

Black Girls and School Discipline: The Complexities of Being Overrepresented and Understudied

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2016
URBAN EDUC

Using Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Feminism as guiding conceptual frameworks, this mixed-methods empirical study examines Black girls’ exclusionary discipline outcomes. First, we examined disciplinary data from a large urban school district to assess racial group differences in office referral reasons and disparities for Black girls in out-of-school suspensions, law enforcement referrals, and expulsions. Next, we used a multivariate analysis to determine whether these patterns held after accounting for other identity markers. Finally, we used Critical Discourse Analysis to consider whether office referrals for Black girls were for subjective or objective behaviors and whether they aligned with dominant narratives.

Addressing the STEM Gender Gap by Designing and Implementing an Educational Outreach Chemistry Camp for Middle School Girls

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2015

There continues to be a persistent, widespread gender gap in multiple STEM disciplines at all educational and professional levels: from the self-reported interest of preschool aged students in scientific exploration to the percentages of tenured faculty in these disciplines, more men than women express an interest in science, a confidence in their scientific abilities, and ultimately decide to pursue scientific careers. Reported herein is an intensive outreach effort focused on addressing this gender gap: a full-time, week-long chemistry camp that was designed and implemented for middle school girls in the state of Rhode Island. The camp schedule included multiple hands-on experiments, field trips, and significant interactions with female scientists, all of which were designed to increase the participants' interest in and enthusiasm for science. The success of the program in changing the participants' attitudes toward science was measured through administration of a precamp and postcamp survey, and the survey results demonstrated a strong success in changing the participants' attitudes toward the widespread applicability of science, their perceived level of support for scientific study, and their interest in pursuing STEM-related careers. © 2015 The American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Pathways to College for Young Black Scholars: A Community Cultural Wealth Perspective

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2013

In this article, Uma Jayakumar, Rican Vue, and Walter Allen present their study of Young Black Scholars (YBS), a community-initiated college preparatory program in Los Angeles. Through in-depth interviews and surveys with twenty-five middle- and higher-income Black college students, they document the positive role of community in facilitating college access. The authors show that students' perceptions of YBS's support of their college aspirations are qualitatively different than perceptions of their schools' support. The authors theorize that YBS participants embrace college-going as an act of resistance to deficit-based narratives regarding the racial achievement gap and social reproduction. By drawing on students' experiences, they put forth a new model of a liberatory college-going process for students of color that leverages community cultural wealth and promotes transformative resistance. Copyright © by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.

Beyond "Acting White": Affirming Academic Identities by Establishing Symbolic Boundaries Through Talk

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2014
URBAN EDUC

Stacy Olitsky

This article investigates interactional processes by which students from non-dominant groups develop academic identities within schools that privilege the dominant group. It draws on an ethnographic study of an urban magnet school, focusing on a discourse analysis of conversations between 3 eighth-grade girls. Findings include that students supported their academic identities through strategically establishing symbolic boundaries between academic content and the standards by which they were judged. Overall, this study explores the ways in which students exercise agency as they develop symbolic boundaries that are more complex than the binary “white” versus “nonwhite” to attain identity-related goals.

Navigating Underrepresented STEM Spaces: Experiences of Black Women in U.S. Computing Science Higher Education Programs Who Actualize Success

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2014

Women in the United States have long been underrepresented in computing science disciplines across college campuses and in industry alike (Hanson, 2004; Jackson & Charleston, 2012). This disparity is exacerbated when African American women are scrutinized. Additionally, prior research (e.g., Hanson, 2004; Jackson & Charleston, 2012; Jackson, Gilbert, Charleston, & Gosha, 2009) suggests a need to better understand this underrepresented group within computing—a field in dire need of additional skilled workers. Using critical race feminism and Black feminist thought as theoretical underpinnings, this study examined the experiences of Black female computing aspirants at various levels of academic status. In doing so, this research captures the unique challenges that participants experience in their respective academic computing science environments, as well as how participants navigate this historically White, male-dominated field.

Intersectionality as a framework for understanding diverse young women's commitment to engineering

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2015

Women and members of U.S. minority groups continue to be seriously underrepresented in engineering. In the literature on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) diversity, women and minorities typically are treated as distinct groups. However, this approach is challenged by nearly two decades of scholarship on “intersectionality,” i.e., the idea that social categories and markers of difference and identity—such as gender, race, ethnicity, and class—never operate independently of each other. In this paper, we discuss the cases of three high school women, who demonstrated varied forms of commitment to engineering as they participated in a three-year, National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project, Female Recruits Explore Engineering (FREE). We introduce the young women, describe salient aspects of their career exploration experiences during high school, and apply an intersectional framework to their cases. The analysis illuminates how influential social factors and identity markers intertwine to affect the girls’ commitment to the academic and career choice of engineering. We demonstrate how the interconnections of gender, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic factors influence perceptions and decisions about whether to pursue engineering in college.

Race, Culture, and Researcher Positionality: Working Through Dangers Seen, Unseen, and Unforeseen

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2007

H. Richard Milner

This author introduces a framework to guide researchers into a process of racial and cultural awareness, consciousness, and positionality as they conduct education research. The premise of the argument is that dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen can emerge for researchers when they do not pay careful attention to their own and others’ racialized and cultural systems of coming to know, knowing, and experiencing the world. Education research is used as an analytic site for discussion throughout this article, but the framework may be transferable to other academic disciplines. After a review of literature on race and culture in education and an outline of central tenets of critical race theory, a nonlinear framework is introduced that focuses on several interrelated qualities: researching the self, researching the self in relation to others, engaged reflection and representation, and shifting from the self to system.

Surveillance and Sacrifice: Gender Differences in the Mentoring Patterns of Black Professors at Predominantly White Research Universities

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2011

Previous research documents Black professors’ heavy service commitments and time spent mentoring; yet little work explores how this form of faculty work differs by gender. This intersectional analysis examines narratives of 37 Black professors at three institutions (collected across two studies), focusing on how race and gender shape Black professors’ expectations and experiences mentoring. Findings indicate that racism and sexism influence whether and how Black faculty members mentor in unique ways. Women engage in close, personal relationships and face high gender-based expectations regarding student contact, leading to their carriage of a heavy mentoring burden. Men are more formal and compartmentalize their relationships, partly due to perceived visibility and surveillance, as well as increased likelihood of accusations of inappropriate relationships with female students.

Whose Culture Has Capital? A Critical Race Theory Discussion of Community Cultural Wealth

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2005
Race Ethn Educ

Tara J. Yosso

This article conceptualizes community cultural wealth as a critical race theory (CRT) challenge to traditional interpretations of cultural capital. CRT shifts the research lens away from a deficit view of Communities of Color as places full of cultural poverty disadvantages, and instead focuses on and learns from the array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities and contacts possessed by socially marginalized groups that often go unrecognized and unacknowledged. Various forms of capital nurtured through cultural wealth include aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial and resistant capital. These forms of capital draw on the knowledges Students of Color bring with them from their homes and communities into the classroom. This CRT approach to education involves a commitment to develop schools that acknowledge the multiple strengths of Communities of Color in order to serve a larger purpose of struggle toward social and racial justice.

Black Otherfathering in the Educational Experiences of Black Males in a Single-Sex Urban High School

Article

Nov 2017

Derrick R. Brooms

Background/Context A good deal of research has been written about the problems and challenges facing Black male youth in their educational endeavors, ranging from academic performances, aspirations, and outcomes to student–teacher relationships, social experiences, and identity development. Statements calling for more Black male teachers abound in current educational discourse, and a number of studies have focused on their experiences in teaching, their pedagogical practices, and their role within the school setting. However, little attention has been given to how Black male students experience their learning and relationships with Black male teachers—the very people who are supposed to benefit from this adult presence. The present study investigates Black male students’ experiences with Black male teachers at a single-sex urban secondary school. Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand Black male students’ experiences in an all-male learning environment, with a particular emphasis on the role of Black male adults in their schooling experiences. Participants This study focused on the schooling experiences of 20 college-age Black males who all attended the same single-sex public high school. Research Design Qualitative research methods were used in this study. In particular, data from in-depth interviews explored students’ narratives about how they experienced and made meaning from the all-male schooling environment. Findings Findings suggest that the students conceptualized adult Black males at their school as otherfathers based on their pedagogical practices, care and concern, and support. First, students expressed their need or desire for male teachers in their secondary schooling experiences. Students identified Black male adults as significant contributors to their development. Second, learning from Black male teachers was valued highly by students because these experiences provided them with insider perspectives and key insights on being Black and male. Students were exposed to opportunities to learn about how race and gender could matter in their lives. Finally, engaging with Black male adults in their schooling experiences provided students with unique opportunities to learn more about themselves. Students’ learning enhanced their critical consciousness and connected to their racial and gender identities as well. Students attributed much of their success and personal development to how Black male teachers engaged in otherfathering—expressed as holistic care, support, parenting, modeling, and life coaching. Recommendations Implications and recommendations for educational researchers and practitioners to better understand how Black males matter in the lives and schooling experiences of Black male youth are discussed.

Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black

Book

Oct 2014

bell hooks

Teacher preparation for urban schools

Chapter

Jan 2013

The changing demographic texture of the United States has resulted in unprecedented diversity in schools. In particular, urban schools and communities have witnessed these shifts for some time. As a country that has celebrated in theory its diversity, the United States has seen its urban communities often serve as the hallmark of the ethnic, socioeconomic, racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity that the United States purports makes it unique. The paradox in this current state of affairs is that while urban schools and communities have witnessed the type of diversity that the United States supposedly cherishes, the manner in which children in urban schools have been served has been far from ideal (Delpit, 2012; Howard, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 2006). In fact, although one might argue that schools in U.S. society are diverse, a closer examination of racial and ethnic trends in urban schools demonstrates less diversity as many schools are resegregating (Boger & Orfield, 2005). A perusal of the professional literature would reveal that low-income, and children of color (namely African American and Latino American-the populations most present in urban schools) perform far below their high-income and White peers on standardized tests (Barton & Coley, 2010; Chubb & Loveless, 2002; Jencks & Phillips, 1998; Pino & Smith, 2004).

School Belonging, Educational Aspirations, and Academic Self-Efficacy among African American Male High School Students: Implications for School Counselors

Article

Jun 2008

While academic self-efficacy is widely considered an individual cognitive variable, it may be influenced by a sense of belonging and connection to others in the school community. Using a correlation and multiple regression design, the study in this article examined the relationship between perceptions of school belonging, educational aspirations, and academic self-efficacy among 40 African American male high school students. Results indicated that feeling encouraged to participate and educational aspirations were significant, positive predictors of academic self-efficacy. Other components of perceptions of school belonging were not significant in predicting academic self-efficacy. Recommendations for future research and practical suggestions for school counselors are discussed.

Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste

Article

Sep 1986

(Un)Hidden Figures: A Synthesis of Research Examining the Intersectional Experiences of Black Women and Girls in STEM Education

Article

Mar 2018

In this chapter, we argue that intersectionality is a theoretical and methodological framework by which education researchers can critically examine why and how students in STEM fields who are members of intersecting marginalized groups have distinctive experiences related to their social identities, other psychological processes, and educational outcomes. Taken separately, the bodies of education research focused on the experiences of Black students and female students in STEM fields often render Black women and girls “hidden figures” in that they have not sufficiently addressed their simultaneous racialized and gendered experiences in educational contexts. Additionally, we find that the current discourse on intersectionality is limited in that it does not attend to key psychological processes associated with identity and the intersectional experience in STEM education. We take a theoretical and methodological approach to examining intersectionality in STEM education and provide a new interpretation of the literature on Black women and girls in this social context. A synthesis of (N = 60) research studies revealed that (1) identity; (2) STEM interest, confidence, and persistence; (3) achievement, ability perceptions, and attributions; and (4) socializers and support systems are key themes within the experiences of Black women and girls in STEM education. Our analysis also highlights the ways that researchers have employed intersectionality to make the experiences of Black women and girls in STEM education more visible, or “unhidden.” We discuss these findings from a psychological perspective and provide insights to guide future research and practice directions in STEM education.

“A Bridge Between High School and College”: A Case Study of a STEM Intervention Program Enhancing College Readiness Among Underserved Students

Article

Sep 2017

Underserved students express a high interest in earning a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree. However, their ACT benchmark indicators tend to be much lower than their peers, especially for students who report more than one underserved attribute. There are a number of STEM intervention programs (SIPs) that are designed to retain and graduate underserved students in STEM. Yet, relatively few engage in theoretically driven, empirical research to elucidate what program components contribute to college readiness. Using Conley’s college and career readiness framework, this qualitative case study examined how one SIP helped underserved students overcome academic barriers and acquire context-specific knowledge. Findings revealed that nine interrelated practices and activities contributed to students feeling better prepared for the STEM curriculum and college expectations. Still, more attention could have been devoted to advancing key cognitive strategies. This article concludes with practical implications for SIP program administrators and faculty.

Patients’ Responsibilities in Medical Ethics

Article

Sep 2016

Zhu Fengqing

The Development of Underrepresented Students' Sense of Belonging in the Mathematics Community through Participating in College Outreach

Article

Jan 2016

Alison S. Marzocchi

This study examined the sense of belonging in the mathematics community (SBMC) among twelfth grade students who belong to sections of the population that are underrepresented in mathematics,specifically low-income and first-generation-college students,and who participated in a college outreach program that targets students interested in college majors in mathematics and science. Results indicated that college outreach program participation had a positive impact on the participants’ SBMC. Factors of the college outreach program contributing to participants’ SBMC include being surrounded by other motivated peers,sharing a common program-wide goal,being able to receive help when needed,and working in a collaborative learning environment. Based on these results,it would seem that gaining a SBMC through participation in college outreach programs could help to encourage more underrepresented students to pursue mathematics-related careers.

Beyond conventional wisdom: community cultural wealth and the college knowledge of African American youth in the United States

Article

Mar 2016

Nicole E. Holland

African American youth are generally as likely as their peers from other racial and ethnic groups to aspire to earn a college degree; yet, in spite of their aspirations these students remain under-represented in college enrollment and graduation. Part of the disparity between these students’ aspirations and the realization of their goals may lie in their minimal college knowledge and nominal participation in postsecondary preparatory activities that have frequently been caused by the historic, and ongoing, systematic disenfranchisement of African Americans. During interviews, college students reflected on how similarly-aged family members, peers, co-workers, and parishioners assisted with various aspects of college preparation and enrollment. The community cultural wealth framework helps us understand the reason for, and importance of, this ‘lateral mentorship’ in the fulfillment of these students’ college aspirations. Consequently, educators and educational systems are challenged to be more responsive to the college preparatory needs of traditionally under-represented college-going populations.

Introducing the Geosciences to Alaska Natives via the Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI)

Article

Dec 2007

The Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI) is an intensive, six-week residential high school-to-college bridging program aimed at preparing talented rural Alaska youth for the social and academic challenges of college. Since its inception in 1983, RAHI has demonstrated that it is an effective means of encouraging Alaska Native students to attend college and finish a post-secondary degree. Since 2003, a four credit, college-level, field-intensive, introductory geoscience course has been part of the RAHI curriculum. While it is difficult to evaluate what effect this specific course is having on the long term goal of recruiting more minority geoscientists, short term indicators suggest that the course is very effective in increasing the visibility of geology as a desirable career option amongst college-bound Alaska Native youth.

Community Cultural Wealth: An Assets-Based Approach to Persistence of Engineering Students of Color

Article

Jan 2016
J ENG EDUC

Background Community cultural wealth, or the types of cultural capital that students of color employ, has been used to understand the persistence of students of color in engineering. The assets‐based theory of community cultural wealth helps identify the cultural resources that these students develop in their families and communities and bring to engineering. This theory problematizes the experiences of students of color in the context of an educational system designed for White males. Purpose The study sought to answer four research questions: What types of community cultural wealth did African American and Latino students rely on through their engineering programs? How did the different types of capital contribute to student persistence? What differences emerged between African American and Latino students? What differences emerged at the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender? Design/Method We applied secondary qualitative analysis to interviews with 31 engineering undergraduates: 11 African American students and 20 Latino students from 11 universities. Results Each type of community cultural wealth took various forms and contributed to student persistence. Students alluded to navigational and aspirational capital most often. African American men and women activated particular types of capital differently. Women with different racial/ethnic backgrounds also relied on different forms of capital or methods of activation. Conclusions The types of capital are dynamic in how they interact with one another. Community cultural wealth is a useful assets‐based construct for the study of persistence of engineering students of color.

College Students' Sense of Belonging: A Key to Educational Success for All Students

Article

Dec 2012

Terrell Strayhorn

Belonging-with peers, in the classroom, or on campus-is a crucial part of the college experience. it can affect a student's degree of academic achievement, or even whether they stay in school. Although much is known about the causes and impact of sense of belonging in students, little is known about how belonging differs based on students' social identities, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation, or the conditions they encounter on campus.

Disrupting Postsecondary Prose: Toward a Critical Race Theory of Higher Education

Article

Sep 2015
URBAN EDUC

Lori D. Patton

Ladson-Billings and Tate ushered critical race theory (CRT) into education and challenged racial inequities in schooling contexts. In this article, I consider the role CRT can play in disrupting postsecondary prose, or the ordinary, predictable, and taken for granted ways in which the academy has functioned for centuries as a bastion of racism and White supremacy. I disrupt racelessness in education, but focus primarily on postsecondary contexts related to history, access, curriculum, policy, and research. The purpose of this article is to commemorate and extend Ladson-Billings and Tate’s work toward a CRT of higher education.

The summer was worth it: Exploring the influences of a STEM focused summer research program on the success of African American females

Article

Jan 2015

Dimitra Jackson

Inside the Double Bind: A Synthesis of Empirical Research on Undergraduate and Graduate Women of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Article

Jun 2011

In this article, Maria Ong, Carol Wright, Lorelle Espinosa, and Gary Orfield review nearly forty years of scholarship on the postsecondary educational experiences of women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Their synthesis of 116 works of scholarship provides insight into the factors that influence the retention, persistence, and achievement of women of color in STEM fields. They argue that the current underrepresentation of women of color in STEM fields represents an unconscionable underutilization of our nation's human capital and raises concerns of equity in the U.S. educational and employment systems. They refute the pervasive myth that underrepresented minority women are less interested in pursuing STEM fields and then present a complex portrait of the myriad factors that influence the undergraduate and graduate experiences of women of color in STEM fields. Finally, the authors discuss the policy implications of their findings and highlight gaps in the literature where further research is needed, providing a knowledge base for educators, policy makers, and researchers to continue the mission of advancing the status of women of color in STEM.

Analyzing Poverty, Learning, and Teaching Through a Critical Race Theory Lens

Article

Feb 2013

H. Richard Milner

All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community.

Article

Mar 1975
Man

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Extended Family, Friendship, Fictive Kin, and Congregational Informal Support Networks

Article

Oct 2013

This study examined differences in kin and nonkin networks among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans), and non‐Hispanic Whites. Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non‐Hispanic Whites. Selected measures of informal support from family, friendship, fictive kin, and congregation/church networks were utilized. African Americans were more involved in congregation networks, whereas non‐Hispanic Whites were more involved in friendship networks. African Americans were more likely to give support to extended family members and to have daily interaction with family members. African Americans and Black Caribbeans had larger fictive kin networks than non‐Hispanic Whites, but non‐Hispanic Whites with fictive kin received support from them more frequently than African Americans and Black Caribbeans. The discussion notes the importance of examining kin and nonkin networks, as well as investigating ethnic differences within the Black American population.

A Balancing Act: Impacting and Initiating the Success of African American Female Community College Transfer Students in STEM into the HBCU Environment

Article

Jun 2013

Dimitra Lynette Jackson

Increasing the representation of students of color in STEM is vital to the United States' workforce. It is projected that minorities will represent half of the resident U.S population by 2050. Consequently, a large portion of STEM talent lies within the student of color population. With a large representation of students of color entering HBCUs, via the community college, understanding their experiences in STEM are vital. This study draws attention to a very unique population. Photovoice is used to highlight the experiences of seven African American female community college transfer students in STEM at an HBCU. This study highlights the factors that facilitate success among this population. Implications are provided based on the overall results of this study.

Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction

Book

Jan 2006

Etienne Wenger-Trayner

Relational Networks, Social Trust, and Norms: A Social Capital Perspective on Students’ Chances of Academic Success

Article

Mar 2003

Roger Goddard

This study elaborates a theoretical rationale for relational networks, norms, and trust as structural and functional forms of social capital that can facilitate student achievement. The results of hierarchical generalized linear modeling show that 4th-grade students’ odds of passing state-mandated mathematics and writing assessments are modestly increased in urban schools characterized by high levels of social capital. The results suggest the need for more research investigating the extent to which social capital is independent from socioeconomic status and whether social capital may be developed in schools serving high concentrations of poor and minority students.

Black Students and their FamiliesWhat Leads to Success in College

Article

Mar 2004
J BLACK STUD

There is a wealth of research on Black college students and a second body of literature on Black families, but studies on the relationship between Black college students and their families are very limited. This project investigated the role of families in the lives of successful Black college students. The results suggest a model of eight connections between students and families that can be conceptualized in three stages.

Informal Social Support Networks and Subjective Well-Being among African Americans

Article

Nov 2001
J BLACK PSYCHOL

This article examines the influence of sociodemographic and family, friendship, fictive kin, church, and neighbor network variables on two measures of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness) among a national sample of African Americans. The analyses were conducted on the National Survey of Black Americans, a national cross-section study of the adult (age 18 and older) Black population (N = 2,107). Multivariate analyses revealed that sociodemographic (i.e., age, income, region, health, marital status, urbanicity) and social relations and network factors (i.e., subjective family closeness, support from family, number of friends, presence of fictive kin, church attendance, and frequency of contact with neighbors) were significantly associated with subjective well-being. The findings are discussed in relation to previous work on the sociodemographic, health, and social network correlates of subjective well-being.

Educational Aspirations of Minority Youth

Article

May 1998

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88),we analyze how educational aspirations are formed and maintained from eighth to twelfth grades among a single cohort of youth. Guided by research in the status-attainment literature, which focuses on how aspirations are shaped, and the blocked-opportunities framework, which considers the structural obstacles that bound or level aspirations, we find that the relative shares of minority youth who have high educational aspirations are high from eighth to twelfth grades. However, ethnic groups differ in the extent to which high educational aspirations are maintained such that black and Hispanic youth have less stable aspirations. Our results suggest that family socioeconomic status (SES) not only contributes to ambitious aspirations in eighth grade but, more important, to the maintenance of high aspirations throughout the high school years. Because black and Hispanic students are less likely to maintain their high aspirations throughout high school, owing to their lower family SES background, we argue that their early aspirations are less concrete than those of white and especially Asian students. Focus-group discussions with adolescents support quantitative findings that, compared to whites and Asians, black and Hispanic youth are relatively uninformed about college, thus dampening their odds of reaching their educational goals.

The Coding Manual for Qualitative Research

Book

Jan 2009

Johnny Saldaña

Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction

Article

Oct 2011

Etienne Wenger

The term "community of practice" is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it refers to is age-old. The concept has turned out to provide a useful perspective on knowing and learning. A growing number of people and organizations in various sectors are now focusing on communities of practice as a key to improving their performance. This brief and general introduction examines what communities of practice are and why researchers and practitioners in so many different contexts find them useful as an approach to knowing and learning.

A Description and Evaluation of the Effects of a Preengineering Program for Underrepresented, Low-Income, and/or First Generation College Students at the University of Akron

Article

Jan 2000

Summarizes the five-year effort of a preengineering program to improve the recruitment and retention of underrepresented college students to pursue degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology at The University of Akron. Assesses the university's successful operation of the special high school Upward Bound and preengineering Academic Achievement programs. (Author/SAH)

Breaking Science Stereotypes

Article

Jan 2001

Describes a study in which fourth and fifth grade students drew pictures of what they believed a scientist looks like. Scientists then visited the classrooms and students were asked to draw another picture of what scientists look like. More stereotypic views of scientists were seen in the first drawings than in the second. (SAH)

Summer Bridge Programs: Supporting All Students. ERIC Digest

Article

Jan 2000

Adrianna Kezar

Over the last thirty years access to higher education has expanded markedly. Remediation and support programs, including summer bridge programs, have grown in response to the needs of international students, non-English speakers and disabled students, and others who need help in gaining an equal footing with other students. The other main thrust of these programs is to retain these new populations within higher education. The summer programs offer a wide range of activities: academic support, study skills, career counseling, parent involvement, developing relationships on campus, computer literacy, and partnerships with business, communities, and K-12 educators. Individualization of the curricula and programs to the needs of each campus is essential. Every program should begin by developing a mission statement and goals that serve as the foundation of any evaluation, recognizing that it is not usually possible to offer all activities and to serve all populations. Bridge programs are also gaining support internationally, as other countries expand their higher education systems; many are looking to U.S. models, and our institutions need to support and nurture these programs. (RH)

Meeting the Challenge: The Impact of the National Science Foundation's Program for Women and Girls

Article

Jan 2002

Describes a study of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Program for Women and Girls (PWG) conducted by the Urban Institute between 1998 and 2000. Assesses the PWG's contributions to the field of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) education and gender equity. Concludes that the PWG successfully effected both positive, short-term changes in human capital and long-term changes in knowledge capital and social capital resources to improve equity in SMET. (Author/KHR)

An anti‐deficit achievement framework for research on students of color in STEM

Article

Dec 2010

Shaun Harper

A framework adapted from the National Black Male College Achievement Study is introduced in this chapter as a lens through which to explore the enablers of student achievement in STEM. The chapter places an emphasis on reframing deficit-oriented research questions regarding students of color and their trajectories in STEM fields.

A longitudinal study of the educational and career trajectories of female participants of an urban informal science education program

Article

Oct 2004
J RES SCI TEACH

The purpose of this longitudinal case study is to describe the educational trajectories of a sample of 152 young women from urban, low-income, single-parent families who participated in the Women in Natural Sciences (WINS) program during high school. Utilizing data drawn from program records, surveys, and interviews, this study also attempts to determine how the program affected the participants' educational and career choices to provide insight into the role informal science education programs play in increasing the participation of women and minorities in science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET)-related fields. Findings revealed 109 participants (93.16%) enrolled in a college program following high school completion. Careers in medical or health-related fields followed by careers in SMET emerged as the highest ranking career paths with 24 students (23.76%) and 21 students (20.79%), respectively, employed in or pursuing careers in these areas. The majority of participants perceived having staff to talk to, the job skills learned, and having the museum as a safe place to go as having influenced their educational and career decisions. These findings reflect the need for continued support of informal science education programs for urban girls and at-risk youth. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 835–860, 2004

Telling Their Side of the Story: African-American Students' Perceptions of Culturally Relevant Teaching

Article

Jan 2001

Tyrone C. Howard

An increasing amount of scholarship has documented the salience of culturally relevant teaching practices for ethnically and linguistically diverse students. However, research examining these students' perceptions and interpretations of these learning environments has been minimal at best. In this article, the author details the findings from a study that sought to assess African-American elementary students' interpretations of culturally relevant teachers within urban contexts. Student responses indicated that culturally relevant teaching strategies had a positive affect on student effort and engagement in class content and were consistent with the theoretical principles of culturally relevant pedagogy. The qualitative data revealed three key findings that students preferred in their learning environments (1) teachers who displayed caring bonds and attitudes toward them, (2) teachers who established community- and family-type classroom environments, and (3) teachers who made learning an entertaining and fun process.

Nurturing the Capital Within: A Qualitative Investigation of Black Women and Girls in STEM Summer Programs

Abstract

No full-text available

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