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Minorities In STEM Education

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Minorities are underrepresented in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and there are factors that contribute to this phenomenon. (Lancaster & Xu, 2017). One contributing factor to the underrepresentation of minorities in STEM is the achievement gap between minorities and whites. Unfortunately, many studies affirm that educators have low academic expectations for students of color (Olszewski-Kubilius, 2003). Thereby, students of color complete fewer advanced courses and less rigorous curriculum than their white counterparts (2003), and these advanced courses, specifically in mathematics, are required to enter into the STEM curricula at post-secondary institutions (Diemer, Marchand, McKellar, & Malanchuk, 2016). …show more content…

I have commented to my family, friends, and colleagues about being the sole survivor in college as well as professionally. I have also lamented about being isolated in my field. However, if I continue to complain without actions, there will be no change in the STEM community. I cannot continue to “reproduce and perpetuate the inequities inherent” (Shields, 2009, p. 57) in the field of STEM through my educational practices. In becoming a transformative educator, as described by Shields, I must acknowledge the inequities and use my power to lessen these inequities as barriers to STEM education. Thus, in my role as an instructor at a technical college, I must facilitate deliberate actions within my classroom and community to make a difference for other minorities to pursue STEM education and remain on course to complete their STEM education. In reflecting on the factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of minorities in STEM, I have a deeper understanding of the barriers that affect and perpetuate this phenomenon. Therefore, I utilize Harper’s (2009) race-conscious engagement practices as a model to ameliorate the factors affecting minorities …show more content…

41). Subsequently, effective educators must acknowledge that different groups are treated differently on campus (2009). In acknowledging this differential treatment, educators must accept the responsibility to promote engagement of minority students and their success, which is the first step to race-conscious engagement practices (2009). In my practice, minorities have described to me instances in which faculty members have mistreated them based on comparisons to the treatment of their white counterparts. Jackson and Winfield (2014) also found that minorities were treated unfairly in the STEM disciplines. Thus, I acknowledge that minorities are treated differently in classrooms at my college as well as other institutions of higher learning. Therefore, I must make a concerted effort to engage minority students in my classroom to promote their academic

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In “Net (Race) Neutral: An Essay on How GPA + (reweighted) SAT - Race = Diversity,” Christine Goodman illustrates the opposing viewpoints in regards to the racial discriminatory efforts by the college institutions to help diversify the incoming freshman class. With this, Goodman provides statistics and opinions of experts on the matter, which includes comparison of such discriminatory acts against other institutions. To begin, she brings up an enlightening, yet controversial court case decision: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2013). This court case demonstrates significance to this topic because it counteracts a previous court case, Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), which, “upheld diversity as a compelling interest that would justify narrowly

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”This is what is supposed to be in effect overall public schools and colleges. But discrimination is inevitable, not because of all the racist people out there, but because of the lack of opportunities to be aware of discrimination between races. Although the United States has come a very long way in race equality, there is still vast room for improvement among all

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Hoekenga (2012) noted that the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population in the U.S will reach 132.8 million by the year 2050, when almost one in three Americans will be Hispanic. Yet today Hispanic students (as well as other minorities) continue to be underrepresented in the STEM disciplines (Hoekenga, 2012). In the face of these disparities Hispanic scientists have had a major and lasting impact on the world around them. In many cases they overcame obstacles, including racism and sexism, poverty, cultural and family expectations, and lack of mathematics background, in order to work and excel in the fields that they love.

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courses in college that have opened up my mind to the issue. The more information I learn about this issue, the more surprised I am that our society still exhibits bias, because as much as the United States preaches about equality, it appears as if society has segregation in minor ways. Although the debate between whether there are biased questions on the SATs or not seems to favor that there aren’t by popular opinions, there is still biased behavior occurring in school systems that prevent certain groups of students from getting the proper resources needed. Because I would like to work in an low-income area, which most likely would contain minorities, as a teacher I would make the effort to help those students get the sufficient help needed. This motivates me to become a part of the education field, because caring teachers are much needed in area like this.

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As a young latina woman looking to major in computer science, I continuously remind myself about the influence I could have on young Latino students and by how changing their views on science, technology, engineering and math, I could fight the problem that minorities are underestimated in STEM fields, Latino students are underestimated because of race, and it 's not because we’re unfit for STEM but because we are unaware of the opportunities we have making us a minority in the workforce. From a young age being a Latina girl never placed me at a disadvantage, however, I wasn 't always met with support at home when I showed interest in science or math because my parents did not have a great understanding of those subjects, being a

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Another thing that places students of color at a disadvantage in college admissions is the persisting cultural bias in high-stakes testing. “High-stakes” tests are those that are tied to major consequences, such as admission to college, or even high school graduation. Fair education reform advocates have long been citing an extensive record of standardized testing concerns, many of which relate to racial bias and discrimination. As researcher and author Harold Berlak explains in the journal Rethinking Education: Standardized testing perpetuates institutionalized racism and contributes to the achievement gap between whites and minorities. For instance, the deeply embedded stereotype that African Americans perform poorly on standardized tests

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Delgado and Stefancic (2011) stated that Critical Race Theory explores how “race, racism, and power intersect to create different circumstances for people of color within society [...] and in postsecondary institutions” (as cited in Quaye, 2013, p. 172). Within the field of higher education, it is important for student affairs professionals to recognize how race permeates all aspects of an individual’s life to fully understand their students’ experiences. Unlike other student development theories, such as Baxter-Magolda’s (2008) self-authorship and Abes, Jones, and McEwen’s (2007) Model of Multiple Identities, CRT places race at the “center of the analysis and assumes that race is omnipresent” in an individual’s life (Quaye, 2013, p. 167).

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Many supporters of race-conscious admissions argue that without considering race as a factor, many groups of underrepresented minorities won’t have the chance to continue onto higher education because of their lack of resources, as compared to the wealthy and privileged white applicants. However, this is based on stereotypes. In “The Atlantic” article, “The Affirmative Action That Colleges Really Need”, the author states, “The current framework of race-based preferences…disproportionately helps upper-middle-class students of color, and pits working-class people of different races against one another…Research by the economist Raj Chetty shows that…Seventy-one percent of Black, Latino, and Native American students at Harvard come from college-educated homes with incomes above the national median; such students are in roughly the most advantaged fifth of families of their own race,” (Kahlenberg). What this shows is that in reality, there are families that come from underrepresented backgrounds who are still just as privileged because of their social class. Stereotypes create flaws in the system by giving minority students the boost they do not need instead of giving it to the lower class students that actually do, which includes minorities and the majorities alike.

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In other words, minority students are likely to struggle with learning in an ideologically hostile context, where minority languages are viewed as threats to national unity (Cahnmann, 2003). Furthermore, Lincoln (2003) states that continuously emphasizing the mainstream content exacerbates the isolation of minority students. Alternatively, including vernacular content and valuing simultaneous exposure to multiple varieties and cultures will stimulate their participation and achievement. Due to its contribution to educational equality, I agree with Freeman (1998) that multicultural curriculum draws students’ attention to diverse struggles and accomplishments of different peoples, and fosters students to recognize how they are related to people in the external society through language-mediated interactions. Thus, students are able to develop a fuller self-understanding, refuse to be negatively positioned by mainstream ideology, and reposition themselves differently (Freeman,

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FOSTERING GIRLS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING Parents and educators can do a great deal to foster girls’ attainment and appeal in math and science (Hill, & Augoustinos, 1997, p. 85). Fortunately, research also discloses that vigorously refuting stereotypes can steer to advances in girls’ performance and interest in math and science. For instance, the stereotype that men are better than women in STEM areas can affect girls’ performance, how they critic their work, and their ambitions (Shapiro, & Williams, 2012, p. 175). As future educators, we must help eradicate this stereotype by revealing to girls and boys to female role models in STEM vocations (Marshall, & Reinhartz, 1997, p. 333; Shapiro, & Williams, 2012, p. 178). We must converse about the greater figures of girls and women who are succeeding at higher levels in STEM subjects and fields than ever before, and call attention to the absence of gender difference in performance in virtually every STEM subject (Frawley, 2005, p. 221).

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Throughout many of the affirmative action legal cases, one of the main arguments from proponents is that it is necessary in order to right the wrongs of past racial discrimination. Some say that affirmative action is justified because even though white applicants may be more qualified, this is only because they did not face the same hardships as their minority counterparts (Rachels, Ethics, 1973).  Many argue if we do not integrate disadvantaged minorities into mainstream social institutions, they will continue to suffer the discrimination that has plagued our country for centuries and that this is detrimental to not only the minorities but also society as a whole (Anderson, 2002, 1270–71). However, the debate has recently shifted to the benefits of diversity in the classroom which the Supreme Court has affirmed as being a positive thing

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