High-achieving undergraduates of color pursuing lucrative careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have their sights set on social justice, not just a big paycheck, according to a new 杏吧原创 study聽
鈥淲e found that many black and Latinx students felt it was important for them to use their careers to help others, which we describe as an equity ethic,鈥� said study co-author聽, a researcher at 杏吧原创鈥檚聽聽of education and human development. 鈥淭hese students expressed that they were concerned about people who have been marginalized because of race or ethnicity鈥攎aybe because of the way they have suffered themselves鈥攂ut they also had broader concerns about global disparities.鈥�
For the study, Bentley and lead author聽, associate professor of education, diversity and STEM education at Peabody, collected data from 38 high-achieving black and Latinx* STEM undergraduate students using semi-structured, life-story interviews. The prevailing perception of STEM as a means for global domination was troublesome for many of the students, they found.
鈥淔requently, STEM is associated with a more competitive and individualistic ideology, and for some of the undergraduates we spoke to, that created a conflict,鈥� Bentley said. 鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 sure STEM was a career path that would allow them to make a positive difference in the world. They also expressed a very robust definition of community.鈥�
Many STEM workers are already on the frontlines of socially conscious efforts, like creating water purification systems for developing nations, engineering robots that help children with autism, and critiquing the surveillance technologies used to police black communities. These types of careers should be promoted as much as aerospace or nuclear engineering careers, the researchers say.
鈥淪TEM needs a marketing makeover,鈥� said McGee, a former engineer. 鈥淔or example, many government reports perpetrate this ideology of joining and doing STEM to be competitive globally; to maintain our global dominance in military capability and other industries. But they also should be promoting the message that STEM jobs can provide ways to do good and be equity justice advocates. We may be losing out on a population of black and Latinx STEM students, not because they can鈥檛 do STEM, but because they can鈥檛 see themselves in traditional STEM fields.鈥�
Students who have an equity ethic need to know there is a place for them in STEM. — Lydia Bentley
Children are introduced to the STEM fields in K-12 classrooms, and that鈥檚 where the makeover should begin, Bentley believes.
鈥淒iscussions of how empathy and social justice relate to STEM should start early in classrooms, and should represent perspectives beyond the traditional Anglo American orientation,鈥� Bentley said. 鈥淪tudents who have an equity ethic need to know there is a place for them in STEM.鈥�
This study was funded by the National Science Foundation under the Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
搁别补诲听听颈苍听聽(The University of Chicago Press).
*Latinx is a gender-neutral alternative to the terms 鈥淟atina鈥� and 鈥淟atino.鈥�
This story originally appeared on 杏吧原创 News.