CAREER: Developing Informed Portraits of the Educational Experiences of Homeless, Black High-Achieving Adolescents

现有的教育不公平现象给黑人学生带来了复杂的挑战，特别是在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）课堂上。在经历无家可归的同时表现出在STEM方面取得成功的黑人学生发现自己在种族和阶级的交叉点上特别边缘化。该项目的目的是集中黑人的声音和经验，高成就无家可归的青少年，以更好地了解他们拥有的资源和优势，以及他们从学校和社区的支持，以促进他们的积极发展和教育和职业抱负的实现。这种对这些学生的教育经验的深入探索，重点是STEM课程和途径，将为如何更好地吸引这些学生并确保他们在高中及以后的成功坚持提供有针对性的指导。该项目还将支持研究生和本科生进行STEM教育研究，并与合作学区分享研究结果，作为教育融合计划的一部分。该研究项目得到了EHR核心研究（ECR）计划的支持，该计划支持推进STEM学习和学习环境的基础研究，扩大STEM参与和STEM劳动力发展。该项目还得到了STEM教育种族平等计划（EHR种族平等）的支持，该计划支持通过研究和实践促进STEM教育和劳动力发展中的种族平等的项目。这种定性的，以生活课程为重点的研究探讨了黑人，高成就的无家可归的黑人学生的教育经验。以生活为中心的研究采用半结构化访谈，重点关注学生如何在社会和个人背景下理解关键的生活经历;在这种情况下，该项目突出了学生在种族，能力和无家可归的交叉点上学习STEM的经验通过半结构化访谈与100名黑人学生进行了交流。该项目的总体目标是：1）创建“知情画像”，记录黑人、成绩优异的无家可归高中生的具体和独特的教育经历; 2）评估旨在界定无家可归和向所有无家可归的学生提供支持的现行政策在多大程度上解决或满足这些学生的特殊需求; 3）为教育利益相关者制定循证政策和实践建议，以增加STEM成就成果，并减少黑人高成就无家可归青少年在STEM方面的不平等。这项研究的结果将帮助教育工作者、从业者、政策制定者和学者了解个人、社会、和社区为基础的住房不安全的学生资产，以及他们在追求自己的教育愿望所面临的独特挑战。这个奖项是根据2021年美国救援计划法案全部或部分资助该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Existing educational inequities produce complex challenges for Black students, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms. Black students who show promise for success in STEM while experiencing homelessness find themselves particularly marginalized at the intersection of race and class. The purpose of this project is to center the voices and experiences of Black, high achieving homeless adolescents to better understand the resources and strengths they possess, as well as those they draw on from schools and communities of support to enhance their positive development and achievement of educational and occupational aspirations. This deep exploration into the educational experiences of these students, with emphases on STEM coursework and pathways, will offer pointed guidance in how to better engage those students and ensure their successful persistence through high school and beyond. The project will also support graduate and undergraduate students in STEM education research as well as sharing findings with partner school districts as part of the educational integration plan. This research project is supported by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. This project is also supported by the Racial Equity in STEM Education program (EHR Racial Equity), which supports projects that advance racial equity in STEM education and workforce development through research and practice. This qualitative, life course-focused study examines the educational experiences of Black, high-achieving homeless Black students. Life-coursed focused research employs semi-structured interviews that focus on how students make sense of pivotal life experiences within societal and personal contexts; in this case, the project highlights students’ experiences with STEM learning at the intersections of race, ability, and homelessness with 100 Black students via semi-structured interviews. The project is guided by overarching aims: 1) to create “informed portraits” that document the specific and unique educational experiences of Black, high achieving homeless high school students; 2) to evaluate how well current policies intended to define homelessness and provide support to all students experiencing homelessness address or meet the particular needs of these students; 3) to develop evidence-informed policy and practice recommendations for educational stakeholders in order to increase STEM achievement outcomes and to reduce STEM-specific inequities for Black high-achieving homeless adolescents. The results of this research will assist educators, practitioners, policymakers, and scholars in understanding the personal, social, and community-based assets of housing insecure students alongside the unique challenges they face in pursuing their educational aspirations.This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.