Co-designing for Rightful Parental Presence in Middle School STEM
PERIOD:
TO
Racial gaps in academic achievement in STEM persist despite decades of reform efforts. Parent involvement in school has a positive effect on children’s academic performance, but traditional models of involvement can inhibit engagement among parents of color through barriers like deficit-oriented stereotyping of families of color and alienating interactions with school personnel. This study posits that by transforming how teachers perceive and support engagement by parents of color, STEM classroom cultures can provide more equitable learning opportunities for youth of color.
In this project, Dr. Edna Tan (PI) and Dr. Angela Calabrese Barton (co-PI) will draw on established research-practice partnerships in North Carolina and Michigan to engage families in developing asset-based approaches to STEM education that value the traditions and experiences of families of color. Alongside teachers, parents, and school leaders, the research team will map parental and community assets relevant to STEM (e.g., stories about how families garden or farm to innovate or solve ecological problems) and pilot STEM curriculum units in 6th grade classrooms. Using a design-based implementation research strategy, the research team will then analyze data collected across the design cycles to refine their intervention model for how to facilitate the collaboration process between parents and teachers to adapt STEM curriculum. The study will produce a model of guiding principles and tools for how school districts can fully engage parents of color in middle school STEM teaching and learning using an asset-based approach.
Primary Investigator(s)
