Nurturing the Capital Within: A Qualitative Investigation of Black Women and Girls in STEM Summer Programs

Abstract

Using Yosso’s community cultural wealth as a theoretical lens, we sought to understand how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) summer programs cultivated the interest and participation of Black women and girls in these disciplines. The study drew primarily from the interviews of 14 Black women and girls from two case studies investigating the experiences of students of color in summer STEM programs. Findings revealed the programs were influential in enhancing participants’ existing aspirational, social, and familial capital garnered through inter- and intrapersonal attributes. We also advance the term program families to describe a distinctive fictive kinship fostered through participation in these programs.

Keywords

Black women and girls STEM summer programs community cultural wealth

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Annamma

S. A.

Anyon

Joseph

N. M.

Farrar

Greer

Downing

Simmons

(2019). Black girls and school discipline: The complexities of being overrepresented and understudied. Urban Education, 54(2), 211–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916646610

Bodzin

Gehringer

(2001). Breaking science stereotypes. Science and Children, 38(4), 36–41.

Bourdieu

(1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Harvard University Press.

Brooms

D. R.

(2014). Mapping pathways to affirmative identities among Black males: Instilling the value and importance of education in K-12 and college classrooms. Journal of African American Males in Education, 5(2), 196–214. http://journalofafricanamericanmales.com/vol5no2/

Brooms

D. R.

(2017). Black otherfathering in the educational experiences of Black males in a single-sex urban high school. Teachers College Record, 119(11), 1–46.

Bruning

M. J.

Bystydzienski

Eisenhart

(2015). Intersectionality as a framework for understanding diverse young women’s commitment to engineering. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 21(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014007345

Charleston

L. J.

George

P. L.

Jackson

J. F.

Berhanu

Amechi

M. H.

(2014). Navigating underrepresented STEM spaces: Experiences of Black women in U.S. computing science higher education programs who actualize success. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 7(3), 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036632

Darke

Clewell

B. C.

Sevo

(2002). Meeting the challenge: The impact of the National Science Foundation’s program for women and girls. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 8(3&4), 285–303. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i3-4.30

Fadigan

K. A.

Hammrich

P. L.

(2004). A longitudinal study of the educational and career trajectories of female participants of an urban informal science education program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(8), 835–860. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20026

10.

Goddard

R. D.

(2003). Relational networks, social trust, and norms: A social capital perspective on students’ chances of academic success. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 25(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737025001059

11.

Griffin

K. A.

Reddick

R. J.

(2011). Surveillance and sacrifice: Gender differences in the mentoring patterns of Black professors at predominantly White research universities. American Educational Research Journal, 48(5), 1032–1057. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41306377

12.

Hanks

C. L.

Wartes

Levine

Gonzalez

Fowell

Owens

(2007). Introducing the geosciences to Alaska natives via the Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI). Journal of Geoscience Education, 55(6), 507–513. https://doi.org/10.5408/1089-9995-55.6.507

13.

Harper

S. R.

(2010). An anti-deficit achievement framework for research on students of color in STEM. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2010(148), 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.362

14.

Herndon

M. K.

Hirt

J. B.

(2004). Black students and their families: What leads to success in college. Journal of Black Studies, 34(4), 489–513. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934703258762

15.

Holland

N. E.

(2017). Beyond conventional wisdom: Community cultural wealth and the college knowledge of African American youth in the United States. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 20(6), 796–810. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1150823

16.

Hooks

(1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking Black. South End Press.

17.

Howard

T. C.

(2001). Telling their side of the story: African-American students’ perceptions of culturally relevant teaching. The Urban Review, 33(2), 131–149. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010393224120

18.

Id-Deen

(2012). Students’ of color mathematical identity in an intensive summer program. In Van Zoest

L. R.

J. J.

Kratky

J. L.

(Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 343–347). Western Michigan University.

19.

Id-Deen

(2017). “It will help me do better in mathematics”: Building trusting relationships with Black students. In Fernandes

Crespo

Civil

(Eds.), Access and equity: Promoting high-quality mathematics in Grades 6-8 (pp. 129–139). NCTM.

20.

Ireland

D. T.

Freeman

K. E.

Winston-Proctor

C. E.

DeLaine

K. D.

McDonald Lowe

Woodson

K. M.

(2018). (Un)Hidden figures: A synthesis of research examining the intersectional experiences of black women and girls in STEM education. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 226–254. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759072

21.

Jackson

D. L.

(2013). A balancing act: Impacting and initiating the success of African American female community college transfer students in STEM into the HBCU environment. The Journal of Negro Education, 82(3), 255–271. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7709/jnegroeducation.82.3.0255

22.

Jackson-Smith

(2015). The summer was worth it: Exploring the influences of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics focused summer research program on the success of African American females. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering, 21(2), 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2015010988

23.

Jayakumar

Vue

Allen

(2013). Pathways to college for young Black scholars: A community cultural wealth perspective. Harvard Educational Review, 83(4), 551–579. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.83.4.4k1mq00162433l28

24.

Jayaratne

T. E.

Thomas

N. G.

Trautmann

(2003). Intervention program to keep girls in the science pipeline: Outcome differences by ethnic status. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(4), 393–414. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10082

25.

Joseph

N. M.

Hailu

Boston

(2017). Black women’s and girls’ persistence in the P–20 mathematics pipeline: Two decades of children, youth, and adult education research. Review of Research in Education, 41(1), 203–227. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X16689045

26.

Kao

Tienda

(1998). Educational aspirations of minority youth. American Journal of Education, 106, 349–384. https://doi.org/10.1086/444188

27.

Kezar

(2001). Summer bridge programs: Supporting all students. ERIC Digest. http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-1/summer.html

28.

King

J. E.

Akua

Russell

(2013). Liberating urban education for human freedom. In Milner, IV

H. R.

Lomotey

(Eds.), Handbook of urban education (pp. 52–107). Routledge.

29.

Lam

P. C.

Mawasha

P. R.

Doverspike

McClain

Vesalo

(2000). A description and evaluation of the effects of a pre-engineering program for underrepresented, low-income, and/or first-generation college students at the University of Akron. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 6(3), 221–228. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v6.i3.30

30.

Lane

T. B.

(2016). Beyond academic and social integration: Understanding the impact of a STEM enrichment program on the retention and degree attainment of underrepresented students. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0070

31.

Lane

T. B.

Morgan

Lopez

(2017). “A bridge between high school and college”: A case study of a STEM intervention program enhancing college readiness among underserved students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice, 22(1), 155–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025117729824

32.

Lauer

P. A.

Akiba

Wilkerson

S. B.

Apthorp

H. S.

Snow

Martin-Glenn

(2006). Out-of-school-time programs: A meta-analysis of effects for at-risk students. Review of Educational Research, 76, 275–313. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543076002275

33.

Levine

Serio

Radaram

Chaudhuri

Talbert

(2015). Addressing the STEM gender gap by designing and implementing an educational outreach chemistry camp for middle school girls. Journal of Chemical Education, 92(10), 1639–1644. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed500945g

34.

Marzocchi

A. S.

(2016). The development of underrepresented students’ sense of belonging in the mathematics community through participation in college outreach. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 22(2), 119–138.

35.

Maton

K. I.

Beason

T. S.

Godsay

Sto Domingo

M. R.

Bailey

T. C.

Sun

Hrabowski

F. A.

III . (2016). Outcomes and processes in the Meyerhoff scholars program: STEM PhD completion, sense of community, perceived program benefit, science identity, and research self-efficacy. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0062

36.

McGee

E. O.

Bentley

(2017). The troubled success of Black women in STEM. Cognition and Instruction, 35(4), 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2017.1355211

37.

Milner

H. R.

IV . (2007). Race, culture, and researcher positionality: Working through dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen. Educational Researcher, 36(7), 388–400. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X07309471

38.

Milner

H. R.

IV . (2013). Analyzing poverty, learning, and teaching through a Critical Race Theory lens. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 1–53. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X12459720

39.

Milner

H. R.

IV Lomotey

(2013). Introduction. In Milner

H. R.

Lomotey

(Eds.), Handbook of urban education (1st ed., pp. xv–xxiii). Routledge.

40.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Barriers & opportunities for 2-year and 4-year STEM degrees: Systemic change to support diverse student pathways. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/21739

41.

National Science Foundation & National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2017). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering: 2017 (Special Report NSF No. 17-310). www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/

42.

Nyachae

T. M.

Ohito

E. O.

(2019). No disrespect: A womanist critique of respectability discourses in extracurricular programming for Black girls. Urban Education, 25(9–10), 839–850.

43.

Olitsky

(2015). Beyond “acting White”: Affirming academic identities by establishing symbolic boundaries through talk. Urban Education, 50(8), 961–988. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085914536999

44.

Ong

Smith

J. M.

L. T.

(2018). Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55(2), 206–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21417

45.

Ong

Wright

Espinosa

Orfield

(2011). Inside the double bind: A synthesis of empirical research on undergraduate and graduate women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 172–209. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.2.t022245n7x4752v2

46.

Parker

A. D.

(2013). Family matters: Familial support and science identity formation for African American female STEM majors [Unpublished dissertation]. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

47.

Patton

L. D.

(2016). Disrupting postsecondary prose: Toward a Critical Race Theory of higher education. Urban Education, 51(3), 315–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085915602542

48.

Patton

M. Q.

(2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). Sage.

49.

Perna

Lundy-Wagner

Drezner

N. D.

Gasman

Yoon

Bose

Gary

(2009). The contribution of HBCUs to the preparation of African American women for STEM careers: A case study. Research in Higher Education, 50(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-008-9110-y

50.

Pinkard

Erete

Martin

C. K.

McKinney

Royston

(2017). Digital youth divas: Exploring narrative-driven curriculum to spark middle school girls’ interest in computational activities. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 26(3), 477–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2017.1307199

51.

Rahm

Ash

(2008). Learning environments at the margin: Case studies of disenfranchised youth doing science in an aquarium and an after-school program. Learning Environments Research, 11(1), 49–62.

52.

Ray

T. M.

(2016). A preliminary study investigating the factors influencing STEM major selection by African American females [Unpublished dissertation]. Old Dominion University.

53.

Saldaña

(2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.

54.

Samuelson

C. C.

Litzler

(2016). Community cultural wealth: An assets-based approach to persistence of engineering students of color. Journal of Engineering Education, 105(1), 93–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20110

55.

Stack

C. B.

(1974). All our kin: Strategies for survival in a Black community. Harper and Row.

56.

STEM Task Force Report. (2014). Innovate: A blueprint for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in California public education. Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation.

57.

Stolle-McAllister

(2011). The case for summer bridge: Building social and cultural capital for talented Black STEM students. Science Educator, 20(2), 12–22.

58.

Strayhorn

(2012). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Routledge.

59.

Taylor

R. J.

Chatters

Woodward

Brown

(2013). Racial and ethnic differences in extended family, friendship, fictive kin, and congregational informal support networks. Family Relations, 62(4), 609–624. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12030

60.

Taylor

R. J.

Chatters

L. M.

Hardison

C. B.

Riley

(2001). Informal social support networks and subjective well-being among African Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 27(4), 439–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798401027004004

61.

Uwah

McMahon

Furlow

(2008). School belonging, educational aspirations, & academic self-efficacy among African American male high school students: Implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 11(5), 296–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X0801100503

62.

Wenger

(2011, March 28). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm

63.

Yosso

T. J.

(2005). Whose culture has capital? A Critical Race Theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006