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

现有的教育不平等给黑人学生带来了复杂的挑战，尤其是在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）课堂上。那些有希望在STEM领域取得成功但却无家可归的黑人学生发现，他们在种族和阶级的交叉点上尤其被边缘化。该项目的目的是集中黑人高成就无家可归的青少年的声音和经历，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中获得的资源和优势，以促进他们的积极发展和实现教育和职业抱负。对这些学生的教育经历进行深入探索，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。作为教育整合计划的一部分，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成果。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学习和学习环境基础研究、扩大STEM参与和STEM劳动力发展的工作。该项目还得到了STEM教育中的种族平等项目（EHR种族平等）的支持，该项目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。这个定性的，以生活课程为重点的研究考察了黑人，成绩优异的无家可归的黑人学生的教育经历。以生活课程为重点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，该项目通过半结构化访谈，突出了100名黑人学生在种族、能力和无家可归的交叉点上的STEM学习经历。该项目的总体目标是：1)创建“知情肖像”，记录黑人，成绩优异的无家可归的高中学生的具体和独特的教育经历；2)评估现行政策在定义无家可归者和为所有无家可归的学生提供支持、解决或满足这些学生的特殊需求方面的效果；3)为教育利益相关者制定基于证据的政策和实践建议，以提高STEM成绩，减少黑人高成就无家可归青少年在STEM方面的不平等。这项研究的结果将有助于教育工作者、从业人员、政策制定者和学者了解住房不安全学生的个人、社会和社区资产，以及他们在追求教育愿望时面临的独特挑战。该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。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。

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.