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

学校系统中存在种族差异，黑人和拉丁裔青年不成比例地被停学或开除，随后进入其他学校系统。一旦进入替代系统，他们可能无法获得追求符合他们兴趣和优势的STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）轨迹和职业所需的支持。这种支持的缺失可能会导致匹配不足，因为那些在STEM领域有巨大潜力的高中生，不申请那些能让他们为自己感兴趣的STEM职业做好准备的大学。为了解决这一种族不平等问题，休斯顿大学将共同开发和研究一个项目，为在休斯顿市其他学校就读的黑人和拉丁裔高中生提供文化响应性指导、辅导、暑期研究实验室体验、大学和职业准备研讨会。在此背景下，休斯敦大学的本科职前教师将学习反种族主义和文化响应教学法的课程，他们将使用这些教学法作为框架，指导他们在暑期研究实验室、实验室后指导和STEM辅导期间与年轻人的互动。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感，以及该计划是否以及如何塑造了高中生的STEM身份和对STEM职业的兴趣。结果将通过开放日、学区展销会和媒体等方式与当地高中社区、参与活动的青少年及其家人分享。休斯顿大学将与“800万故事”（800 Million Stories）合作，共同设计和实施一个全面的项目，支持以黑人和拉丁裔为主的学生在STEM领域的大学和职业准备。“800万故事”是一个旨在打破休斯顿市从学校到监狱的管道的替代教育系统。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。为了达到这一研究目的，项目团队将分析STEM身份和兴趣的调查前后，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教师对文化响应式教学的自我效能感。为了实现第二个研究目的，项目团队将分析职前教师文化响应性教学自我效能感和结果期望信念的前后调查，以及焦点小组和访谈的记录。研究成果将通过网络、会议和期刊广泛传播，这些网络、会议和期刊专为STEM教师教育者、STEM教师、STEM教育研究人员和其他学校系统的利益相关者设计。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计划的50多个地点广泛传播。总的来说，这些成果通过推进全面的方法来支持被主流学校系统淘汰的年轻人的STEM职业轨迹，从而实现STEM教育中的种族平等。该项目由STEM教育中的种族平等项目（EDU种族平等）资助。该项目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。获奖项目旨在将STEM企业中受系统性不平等影响最大的个人、社区和机构的声音、知识和经验集中起来。该项目符合美国国家科学基金会的核心价值，即支持来自全国不同人口群体、地区和组织类型的杰出研究人员和创新思想家。EDU的项目为种族平等项目提供资金，以表彰其项目与董事会四个部门的集体研究和发展重点相一致。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HSI的本科STEM教育和能力建设。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。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

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.