Advancing Racial Equity for Youth in Alternative Schooling Systems through Culturally Responsive STEM Programming

通过文化响应型 STEM 项目促进替代教育系统中青少年的种族平等

• 批准号: 2315124
• 负责人: Mariam Manuel
• 金额: $ 159.17万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2028-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2315124&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Advancing; Racial; Equity; Youth; Alternative

Racial disparities exist in school systems when Black and Latinx youth are disproportionately suspended or expelled and subsequently enter alternative schooling systems. Once in alternative systems, they may not receive the supports needed to pursue a range of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) trajectories and careers that align with their interests and strengths. This absence of supports can result in undermatching when high school students, who have great potential to contribute to STEM fields, do not apply for colleges that would prepare them for STEM careers of interest to them. To address this racial inequity, the University of Houston will co-develop and research a program that offers culturally responsive mentoring, tutoring, a summer research laboratory experience, and college and career readiness seminars to predominantly Black and Latinx high school students who are enrolled in alternative schooling systems in the city of Houston. Within this context, undergraduate pre-service teachers at the University of Houston will take coursework on anti-racist and culturally responsive pedagogies, and they will use these pedagogies as a framework to guide their interactions with the youth during their summer research laboratory, and in post-laboratory mentoring and STEM tutoring. Research will explore whether the pre-service teachers report increased self-efficacy in culturally responsive teaching, and whether and how the program shapes the high school students’ STEM identities and interest in STEM careers. Results will be shared with the local high school communities, and with the participating youth and their families, through open houses, school district fairs, and media, among other venues. The University of Houston will partner with 8 Million Stories, an alternative schooling system created to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline in the in the city of Houston, to co-design and implement a comprehensive program that supports college and career readiness in STEM careers among predominantly Black and Latinx students enrolled in the alternative system. Mixed methods research will explore whether and how participation in the program shapes the youths’ STEM identities, interest in STEM careers, and perceived readiness for college. To achieve this research purpose, the project team will analyze pre-and post-surveys of STEM identity and interest, as well as transcripts of focus groups and interviews with youth. Additionally, mixed methods research will explore whether and how participation in the program shapes the pre-service STEM teachers’ sense of self-efficacy toward culturally responsive teaching. To achieve this second research purpose, the project team will analyze pre-and post-surveys of the pre-service teachers’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs, in addition to transcripts from focus groups and interviews. Research findings will be distributed widely through networks, conferences, and journals designed for audiences of STEM teacher educators, STEM teachers, STEM educational researchers, and stakeholders in alternative school systems. To achieve further national impacts, the materials developed for the pre-service teachers will be disseminated widely to over 50 sites in the National UTeach Program. Collectively, these deliverables move toward racial equity in STEM education through advancing comprehensive approaches for supporting STEM career trajectories among youth who have been pushed out of mainstream school systems. This project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education program (EDU Racial Equity). The program supports research and practice projects that investigate how considerations of racial equity factor into the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Awarded projects seek to center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by systemic inequities within the STEM enterprise. This program aligns with NSF's core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations. Programs across EDU contribute funds to the Racial Equity program in recognition of the alignment of its projects with the collective research and development thrusts of the four divisions of the directorate. This project is also funded by the National Science Foundation's HSI Program, which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these goals.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.

在学校系统中存在种族不平等，黑人和拉丁裔青年被不成比例地停学或开除，随后进入替代教育系统。一旦进入替代系统，他们可能无法获得所需的支持，以追求与他们的兴趣和优势相一致的一系列STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）轨迹和职业。这种支持的缺乏可能会导致匹配不足，当高中生，谁有很大的潜力，以促进STEM领域，不申请大学，这将准备他们感兴趣的STEM职业。为了解决这种种族不平等，休斯敦大学将共同开发和研究一项计划，提供文化上敏感的指导，辅导，夏季研究实验室经验，以及大学和职业准备研讨会，主要是黑人和拉丁裔高中学生谁是在休斯敦市的替代教育系统注册。在此背景下，休斯顿大学的本科生职前教师将参加反种族主义和文化上敏感的教育课程，他们将使用这些教育作为一个框架，指导他们在夏季研究实验室期间与青年的互动，以及实验室后的指导和STEM辅导。研究将探讨职前教师是否报告在文化响应式教学中提高了自我效能，以及该计划是否以及如何塑造高中生的STEM身份和对STEM职业的兴趣。结果将通过开放日、学区博览会和媒体等渠道，与当地高中社区、参与的青年及其家庭分享。休斯顿大学将与800万个故事合作，这是一个旨在破坏休斯顿市学校到监狱管道的替代教育系统，共同设计和实施一个全面的计划，支持主要是黑人和拉丁裔学生在STEM职业中的大学和职业准备。混合方法研究将探讨参与该计划是否以及如何塑造年轻人的STEM身份，对STEM职业的兴趣以及对大学的感知准备。为了达到这个研究目的，项目团队将分析STEM身份和兴趣的前后调查，以及焦点小组和青年访谈的记录。此外，混合方法研究将探讨参与该计划是否以及如何塑造职前STEM教师对文化反应教学的自我效能感。为了达到第二个研究目的，项目组将分析职前教师的文化反应教学自我效能和结果预期信念的前后调查，以及焦点小组和访谈的成绩单。研究结果将通过网络、会议和期刊广泛传播，这些网络、会议和期刊是为STEM教师教育工作者、STEM教师、STEM教育研究人员和替代学校系统的利益相关者设计的。为了进一步在全国产生影响，为职前教师编写的材料将在全国UTeach方案的50多个地点广泛传播。总的来说，这些交付成果通过推进全面的方法来支持那些被挤出主流学校系统的年轻人的STEM职业轨迹，从而实现STEM教育中的种族平等。该项目由STEM教育中的种族平等计划（EDU种族平等）资助。该计划支持研究和实践项目，调查种族平等因素如何影响科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）教育和劳动力的改善。获奖项目旨在集中STEM企业内受系统性不平等影响最大的个人，社区和机构的声音，知识和经验。该计划符合NSF的核心价值观，即支持来自全国人口群体，地区和组织类型多样性的优秀研究人员和创新思想家。整个EDU的方案为种族平等方案提供资金，以表彰其项目与董事会四个部门的集体研究和开发目标的一致性。该项目也得到了美国国家科学基金会HSI计划的资助，该计划旨在加强本科STEM教育并提高HSI的能力。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。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。