Honoring Black Women's Work: Creating a Parent and Caring Adult Community to Support Youth STEAM Engagement

Sheena Erete, Naomi Thompson, Miranda Standberry-Wallace, Bo Ju, Denise Nacu, Nichole Pinkard

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Leveraging Black Feminist Thought (BFT) as a framework for parent engagement and using testimonial authority as our research method, this paper describes how meaningful interactions were intentionally fostered among Black and Latinx parents in the Digital Youth Divas Program (DYD), a STEAM program designed for Black and Latina middle school girls. Specifically, the DYD's Community Relations and Engagement Manager (CREM), a Black woman and community resident, describes how she navigates local power structures that impede parent and youth participation in STEAM opportunities by creating a sustainable parent community with strong social capital and effectively communicating with parents in inclusive, culturally relevant ways that build trust. Her experiences highlight the multiple roles Black women play in transforming their communities to address issues of equitable and just access to quality informal learning opportunities as an act of resistance to historical inequity. Moreover, by highlighting her success in building a community of support for Black and Latina girls in STEAM, we argue that it is important for learning initiatives to leverage the power of Black women as change agents in their communities through equal partnership, proper compensation, and recognition of their contributions to STEM enrollment, persistence, and retention.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2021 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology, RESPECT 2021 - Conference Proceedings
EditorsChristina Gardner-McCune, Siobahn Day Grady, Yerika Jimenez, Jean J. Ryoo, Rafi Santo, Jamie Payton
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781665449052
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes
Event2021 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology, RESPECT 2021 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: May 23 2021May 27 2021

Publication series

Name2021 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology, RESPECT 2021 - Conference Proceedings

Conference

Conference2021 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology, RESPECT 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period5/23/215/27/21

Keywords

  • Black and Latinx families
  • Black feminist thought
  • STEAM
  • STEM
  • girls
  • parent support roles

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Computer Science (miscellaneous)
  • Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Education

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