Good intentions are not enough: A case study uncovering perpetuation of internalized and interpersonal oppression in middle school STEM classrooms

Abstract

Science teachers and educators seek to promote equity and inclusion within their classrooms. Yet, many do not examine how their roles could reproduce oppression that continues to exclude certain groups of students. Centering on how oppression interacts with science teaching and learning, this naturalistic study observed Ms. William and her implementation of two STEM units that integrate science and engineering, to understand power, race, and privilege dynamics in her middle school STEM classrooms. Specifically, we focused on understanding oppression at the interpersonal and internalized level in Ms. William's class. We collected and analyzed video recorded lessons from two different classrooms, two STEM curricula Ms. William had co‐developed, and conducted semi‐structured interviews after she taught her two STEM units. We identified themes of oppression perpetuated in the classroom by employing thematic analysis, which when guided by our theoretical framework enabled us to illuminate the complex relationship between science teaching and maintaining whiteness as the dominant discourse in science learning. Our findings suggest that an active and critical role from science teachers and educators are required; we must reflect deeply on our science curriculum and teaching strategies and identify practices that remains to be oppressive if promoting equity and inclusion is at the forefront of our science teaching.

Examining the Antecedents of Novice STEM Teachers’ Job Satisfaction: The Roles of Personality Traits, Perceived Social Support, and Work Engagement

“…At the organizational level, human resources managers could encourage a supportive internal workplace by implementing a suitable code of conduct and arranging meetings to promote and cultivate a civil culture of learning and collaboration. In recent years, many countries have released a lot of policies to support STEM teaching [ 12 , 57 , 63 , 68 , 74 , 75 ]. Schools should help novice STEM teachers realize these policies so that novice STEM teachers can perceive that what they are doing is supported by the governments and societies [ 12 ].…”

“…Hence, it is meaningful for future studies to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and technology-enabled teaching on STEM teachers’ JS. Meanwhile, as aforementioned, many countries have released a lot of policies to support STEM teaching [ 12 , 57 , 63 , 68 , 74 , 75 ], and future studies can also explore the impact of these new policies on teachers’ JS.…”