What is it about?
STEM identity is the way in which one views himself or herself based on confidence in one's ability to utilize developed STEM skills and/or STEM talents. For students of color, cultural context, racial identity, and gender are at the core of their STEM self-concept. This paper introduces Collins’ Black student STEM identity (BSSI) framework, highlighting key factors that contribute to the development of a STEM identity. Collins contends that Black students internalize four basic questions that influence their motivation to learn and persist in STEM disciplines.
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Why is it important?
There is a void in the research that emphasizes the positive role of cultural values and interests as approaches to STEM-based learning. Nurturing and solidifying a STEM-scholar identity is a crucial first step in effectively developing STEM talent, especially for students of color. This includes adequately addressing any socialized racial and gender disregard that is present in STEM curriculum, instructional approaches, and working environments.
Perspectives
This article challenges the status quo of culture-blind and deficit narratives in talent development for students of color. As a STEM-practitioner and educator with lived experiences as an underserved STEM student, I offer this paper as a call to action to redress the racial and gender inequalities in current STEM talent development practices that contribute to underrepresentation of culturally and linguistically different (CLD) students throughout the STEM pipeline.
Kristina Collins
Texas State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Confronting Color-Blind STEM Talent Development: Toward a Contextual Model for Black Student STEM Identity, Journal of Advanced Academics, February 2018, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1932202x18757958.
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