Not in their name: re-interpreting discourses of STEM learning through the subjective experiences of minoritized girls

ABSTRACT

This paper problematizes the enduring conscription of STEM learning in discourses of U.S. global ascendancy, neoliberalism and militarism. Drawing on ethnographic data, we explore how girls of color make meaning of their everyday experiences in two settings: a racially tracked mathematics class in a suburban high school and a STEAM based after-school program in a working class urban community. The stories of these girls – separated by time, place, age, and social histories but bound by sensibilities grown in their Immigrant families and learning contexts – contest U.S. hegemony as the primary rationale for STEM learning; challenge individual gain at the expense of another; problematize what counts as science while insisting on its creative convergence with joy; and honor their ingenuity and humanity. Challenging representational and respectability politics, we consider how dignity may better account for the complexity of their experiences and serve as a resource for research, pedagogy and design.

KEYWORDS:

• STEM
• politics
• immigrant
• girls of color
• dignity
• learning

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Meg Escudé, Natalie Davis and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful commentary. We would also especially like to thank the children, families and educators who generously shared their experiences and perspectives with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. All proper names have been anonymized with the exception of Meg Escudé who, by permission, is identified as the Director of the Tinkering Afterschool Program. Escudé has engaged in a long-standing research-practice partnership with Vossoughi.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation under Grant number 5256; and a Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship.