Disrupting deficit narratives in informal science education: applying community cultural wealth theory to youth learning and engagement

Habig, Bobby; Gupta, Preeti; Adams, Jennifer D.

doi:10.1007/s11422-020-10014-8

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Authentic research experiences in informal learning contexts, where youth engage as practitioners of science, are also thought to be critical for the development of science-affinity identities and for facilitating interest development (Adams et al, 2014;Blanchard et al, 2020;Gray, 2013;Habig et al, 2021). According to the National Research Council (2012), the skills and practices of science are described as three spheres of activity: (1) investigation and empirical inquiry; (2) construction of explanations using argument, analysis, or models; and (3) developing explanations and solutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Authentic STEM research, practices of science, and interest development in an informal science education program

Habig

Gupta

2021

IJ STEM Ed

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Background Two critical challenges in science education are how to engage students in the practices of science and how to develop and sustain interest. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which high school youth, the majority of whom are members of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM, learn the skills and practices of science and in turn develop interest in conducting scientific research as part of their career pursuits. To accomplish this goal, we applied Hidi and Renninger’s well-tested theoretical framework for studying interest development in the context of a museum-based, informal science education (ISE) program. We used a mixed methods approach, incorporating both survey and interview data, to address three research questions: (1) As youth engage in authentic science research, do they develop perceived competence in mastering the skills and practices of science? (2) Do participants increase, maintain, or decrease interest in science research as a result of this experience? (3) How does participation in scientific practices manifest in non-program contexts? Results Our study yielded three main results. First, we found that participants developed competence in mastering several of the skills and practices of science. Strikingly, there was significant improvement in self-reported level of competency for 15 specific research skills. Second, we found that participants maintained their interest in scientific research over time. Our post-survey results revealed that one hundred percent of students were either excited about or expressed deep interest in scientific research. Based on a Phases of Interest Development Rubric developed for this study, most participants exhibited emerging individual interest. Finally, participants exhibited significant increases in the frequency in which they engaged in scientific practices outside of the program. Conclusions Our findings suggest that participation in authentic research in an ISE context affords youth critical opportunities for gaining mastery of several of the skills and practices of science, which in turn reinforces, and in some cases increases participants’ interest in scientific research beyond the span of the program.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Authentic STEM research, practices of science, and interest development in an informal science education program

Habig

Gupta

2021

IJ STEM Ed

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“…CCW has been adopted by researchers in higher education to examine how the underrepresented domestic minority groups of students activate their community cultural capital to achieve success in higher education institutions, in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs and in university preparation (Habig et al, 2021; Huber, 2009; Samuelson & Litzler, 2016). However, little research seems to have adopted the model to investigate how disadvantaged international students mobilize their CCW.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combating language and academic culture shocks—International students’ agency in mobilizing their cultural capital.

Bai¹,

Wang²

2024

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education

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International students undergo both language and academic culture shocks in their study in destination countries such as the UK, the US and Australia. However, most of the research on international students tends to adopt a deficit discourse when portraying this group of students. This research is a response to the call of researchers in the field for a paradigm shift that focuses on international students' agency and asset. Using the agency theory and Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model as the framework, this study reports findings from a qualitative study of 22 Chinese students on 2 + 2 joint programs between an Australian university and four Chinese higher education institutions. While the in-depth interview findings support past studies about the language and academic culture shocks that international students experience, more importantly this study reveals that Chinese international students exercised agency by leveraging mainly four forms of CCW-navigational capital, linguistic capital, social capital and inspirational capital to overcome language and academic culture shocks. Chinese students' agentic exercise reveals temporal and social nature of their agency: It is not only informed by their habitus, directed and guided by the emerging demands and future goals, but also embedded in social engagement. Implications and policy advice for program managers on both sides of the joint programs as well as for host university teaching staff are discussed.

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“…On this view, marginalized students are lacking the requisite motivation to pursue a career in STEM (e.g., [29]); they do not know how interesting STEM is (e.g., [30]); or they have 'misperceptions' about STEM professions (e.g., [31]). Owing to the prevalence of these approaches, the validity of which is often taken for granted [32], marginalized students' perspectives on STEM education are historically understudied. As Feminist Science and Technology Studies (Feminist STS) scholars have long argued, however, those marginalized by STEM possess a privileged vantage point from which to critique STEM fields [33]- [34].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undergraduate Mentors’ Perspectives on Equity-Oriented STEM Outreach

Sutherland

Mohammadi²,

Harris³

2022

PCEEA

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This paper explores undergraduate mentors’ perspectives on, and participation in, “Bringing STEM to Life: Work Integrated Learning in Physics” (BSTL), a work-integrated, equity-oriented STEM outreach program administered by the kindergarten to industry (k2i) academy at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering. To that end, this study brings Feminist Science and Technology Studies and critical pedagogy to bear on a three-phase methodological approach to generating and analyzing qualitative data pertaining to the mentorship component of BSTL. Preliminary findings suggest that (1) undergraduate mentors bring complex STEM motivations, shaped by intersecting marginalized identities, to bear on their mentorship duties; (2) mentors possess nuanced yet occasionally contradictory understandings of STEM, equity, and society; and (3) mentors’ experiences in the BSTL program are variable but positive. These findings suggest that outreach programs can expand their capacity to generate equitable outcomes by actively supporting the creation of STEM counterspaces, foregrounding equity training, and exposing mentors to critical theoretical perspectives on STEM, equity, and society.

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Disrupting deficit narratives in informal science education: applying community cultural wealth theory to youth learning and engagement

Cited by 18 publications

References 52 publications

Authentic STEM research, practices of science, and interest development in an informal science education program

Authentic STEM research, practices of science, and interest development in an informal science education program

Combating language and academic culture shocks—International students’ agency in mobilizing their cultural capital.

Undergraduate Mentors’ Perspectives on Equity-Oriented STEM Outreach

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