Thompson-Mettle, Edlyn Lauren
(2024)
To Teach Us You Must See Us: The Intersections Between Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Community Cultural Wealth and Its Implications for Youth STEM Identity.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
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Abstract
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce in the United States lacks racial/ethnic diversity (Fry et al., 2021; U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.-a.). STEM youth development (STEM-YD) programs that serve youth of color can be powerful tools for increasing diversity in the field by exposing them to career opportunities as well as cultivating and supporting the academic and social skills needed to persist over time. STEM-YD programs affiliated with a university can feature a college-going culture and on-campus experiences, which can lead to a perceived ability to persist in a STEM major and eventually in a career field like STEM (Chang et al., 2014; Gibbs Grey, 2022; Hoffman, 2003). In addition, this student population feels best supported when the instructional staff integrates culturally relevant pedagogical practices into instruction, honoring the racial and cultural backgrounds of their students (Ladson-Billings, 1992).
This Dissertation in Practice takes place at a STEM-YD program called the Art Harper Saturday Academy at Stevens Institute of Technology, a university-based STEM-YD program. To better understand our practices at Art Harper Saturday Academy, in Spring 2023, as a result of a survey and focus group conducted, it was found that teachers and support staff likely taught from a colorblind instructional perspective, unsure about the impacts of centering the race and cultures of student participants within their teaching practice. Therefore, teachers and student support staff of the Art Harper Saturday Academy could benefit from learning how to integrate culturally relevant pedagogical practices into their STEM instruction, and this could benefit student participants.
As a result of this research project, it was found that when instructional staff addresses racism in education, thus prompting them to reflect upon and adapt their own teaching methods and teaching approaches, it can foster inclusivity and increase the STEM Identity of student participants. In future research, I propose that teaching Black and Brown youth requires educators to engage in "soul teaching," integrating their personal identities with their teaching selves. This approach could profoundly impact STEM Identity development and warrants further exploration in the future.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Thompson-Mettle, Edlyn Lauren | elt81@pitt.edu | elt81 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
8 July 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
7 May 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
8 July 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
20 June 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
131 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
workforce diversity, culturally relevant pedagogy, students of color, youth STEM identity, community cultural wealth |
| Date Deposited: |
08 Jul 2024 20:27 |
| Last Modified: |
08 Jul 2024 20:27 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46587 |
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