Chapter 9: African American Middle School Girls in a Community-Based Informal Program: Mining Rare Gems to Pursue STEM

Nationally, there is overwhelming concern about preparing the next generation of scientifically-literate American citizens to actively engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The economy of the United States and preparedness to compete in the 21st century global market depends greatly on the expertise of all citizens in STEM (Bass, Contant, & Carin, 2008; National Academy of Sciences, 2007). To maintain the national security and global competitiveness, it is imperative that all students, including those from underrepresented populations in America develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become functional citizens and promote their participation in STEM careers, thus ensuring the pipeline of related expertise. Knowledgeable citizens are better able to make informed and intentional decisions about public policy issues, which can influence choices made on a personal, state, and national level. It is for these reasons that all students should have access to high quality science education. The Framework for K–12 Science Education (National Research Council [NRC], 2013) was designed to help realize a vision for science and engineering education and recommends that students actively engage in inquiry-based science and engineering practices related to disciplinary core ideas (NRC, 2012). Educators agree that systematically engaging in such practices across K–12 would be effective in positioning students as STEM learners and in their developing a greater appreciation for the importance of the disciplines in their individual lives as citizens. However, the number of students who are motivated to pursue careers in STEM is currently low, especially amongst girls and underrepresented populations (Hanson, 2009; Hill, Corbett, & St. Rose, 2010). This situation has raised concerns among a range of stakeholders, and a number of educational and social reforms have tried to meet this need.