3 Keys To Growing STEM Opportunities For Underrepresented Students

I was one of a few students racialized as black at my high school. Although there were teachers who were racialized as black in my school, none of them taught my classes. I was fortunate that the teachers I did have recognized and encouraged my passion for math and science. I went on to pursue a STEM career, earning a computer system engineering degree at Howard University—where I had my first teacher who was racialized as black.

Fortunately, a STEM career always felt within my reach. However, I’ve heard far too often that there are school cultures that not only fail to support underrepresented students but actively discourage their curiosity. Recent statistics show that STEM inequities persist among underrepresented groups.

• Women, especially women of color, hold only a minority of STEM jobs.
• In an analysis of STEM attainment rates by race/ethnicity and gender, there are still persistent inequities in STEM degree attainment for people of color, women, and women of color, according to The Education Trust.
• People racialized as black comprise 11% of all workers but only 9% of STEM workers, while Latinos comprise 17% of the total workforce but hold only 8% of STEM jobs, according to the Pew Research Center.

Despite these obstacles, several women of color have broken through the glass ceiling in STEM fields, propelling themselves into new dimensions of achievement. One of them is Joan Higginbotham, the third woman racialized as black to ever launch into space. She flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist in 2006 and was one of a seven-member crew to work on the International Space Station (ISS).

Higginbotham didn’t orbit to success by accident. In a recent National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) webinar, she credited her supportive family, rigorous high school math and science classes, meaningful college internships, career mentors, and perseverance mindset for her success. From her story, we have learned some key lessons about how to make STEM more equitable for underrepresented students through:

• mentoring and coaching,
• providing hands-on experiences in real-world scenarios, and
• helping students build self-efficacy.

Mentoring and Coaching

Years before Higginbotham was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1996, she attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago, where she participated in INROADS, a pre-engineering program for women and minorities. The program sparked her curiosity about the math and science disciplines and prepared her for engineering, and later, aerospace science.

Like Higginbotham, I knew I was interested in STEM, but I had mentors who could help me relate my interest to a future career. A supportive school culture plays a critical role in STEM learning; administrators, teachers, and staff need to uphold high expectations for all students.

• Educators must be willing to learn multiple ways to teach math and science concepts so that children can see math and science in their everyday lives.
• Teachers must also understand that it’s not only the “A” students who can succeed in STEM.
• Like NMSI’s Laying the Foundation program, resources that help educators develop a culture that raises expectations for all students, including pedagogy and content skills, help them confidently lead diverse learners.

Read More at Thoughts Stretchers Education.