Renewed Hope: Utilizing Freirean Pedagogies to Enhance Multicultural STEM Classrooms

Cassandra Puletapuai; Daniel Birmingham

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY) Technical Session 2
Tagged Divisions: Equity and Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44167
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44167
Download Count: 140

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Paper Authors

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Cassandra Puletapuai Colorado State University

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Cassandra Puletapuai is a construction management graduate research assistant, graduate teaching assistant, a doctoral student at Colorado School University in the School of Education in Education, Equity, and Transformation focusing on Construction Management. Her research interests include sociocultural and participatory action research practices that connect both the individual’s and industry’s vision for beneficial and tangible outcomes and increasing multicultural supportability in construction/engineering professional and academic spaces.

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Daniel Birmingham Colorado State University

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Associate Professor of STEM Education in the School of Education and Colorado State University. Dr. Birmingham's research examines potential avenues to bridge community and educational experiences in order to alter modes of participation in STEM and support transformative learning for students from traditionally marginalized communities. A central aspect of his research is focused on the design of collaborative forms of qualitative research necessary for expanding dialog on the enduring challenges we face in the areas of educational equity and opportunity in STEM education.

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Abstract

The STEM field for the underrepresented is analogous to the "leaky pipeline" metaphor, which describes the mass exodus of minority students over the course of time. Nationally, the attrition rate of STEM majors for underrepresented students failing degree completion hovers at 53 percent. Students of Color have endured many challenges in the STEM classroom, resembling isolation, stereotype threats, racial microaggressions, lack of confidence, diminished sense of belonging, and other hurdles as a result of race or gender. These factors contribute to the exclusivity in the STEM classroom. Many underrepresented students regard professors of Color as evidence of success and role models. Often, professors of Color connect with students of Color because of shared experiences. However, the pool of diverse faculty remains limited. A report revealed the racial makeup of 1.5 million postsecondary faculty as Asian/Pacific Islander males at 7 percent, Asian/Pacific Islander females at 5 percent, Black females at 4 percent, Black males, Hispanic males, and Hispanic females each at 3 percent, American Indian/Alaskan Native individuals, and individuals of two or more races at 1 percent. How can we encourage and advocate for students of Color in STEM and create an inclusive classroom while representation remains sparse with faculty identity alignment? This paper highlights the challenges faced by students of Color in STEM. We explore and synthesize Freirean pedagogies to offer strategies for higher education faculty to employ in their classrooms to overcome challenges, retain, and support students of Color in STEM fields similar to engineering. More importantly, we aim to provide approaches for enhancing the creation of an inclusive learning environment. Though Freirean pedagogies are not typical teaching approaches in engineering education capacities, its perspectives use student-centered experiences in the learning process which promotes all-embracing spaces. In an inclusive classroom, all voices, no matter the background, have an equal opportunity to thrive, add, and craft to the science community dialogue including engineering education.

Citation
Format

Puletapuai, C., & Birmingham, D. (2023, June), Renewed Hope: Utilizing Freirean Pedagogies to Enhance Multicultural STEM Classrooms Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44167

TY - CPAPER
AB - The STEM field for the underrepresented is analogous to the &quot;leaky pipeline&quot; metaphor, which describes the mass exodus of minority students over the course of time. Nationally, the attrition rate of STEM majors for underrepresented students failing degree completion hovers at 53 percent. Students of Color have endured many challenges in the STEM classroom, resembling isolation, stereotype threats, racial microaggressions, lack of confidence, diminished sense of belonging, and other hurdles as a result of race or gender. These factors contribute to the exclusivity in the STEM classroom. Many underrepresented students regard professors of Color as evidence of success and role models. Often, professors of Color connect with students of Color because of shared experiences. However, the pool of diverse faculty remains limited. A report revealed the racial makeup of 1.5 million postsecondary faculty as Asian/Pacific Islander males at 7 percent, Asian/Pacific Islander females at 5 percent, Black females at 4 percent, Black males, Hispanic males, and Hispanic females each at 3 percent, American Indian/Alaskan Native individuals, and individuals of two or more races at 1 percent. How can we encourage and advocate for students of Color in STEM and create an inclusive classroom while representation remains sparse with faculty identity alignment? This paper highlights the challenges faced by students of Color in STEM. We explore and synthesize Freirean pedagogies to offer strategies for higher education faculty to employ in their classrooms to overcome challenges, retain, and support students of Color in STEM fields similar to engineering. More importantly, we aim to provide approaches for enhancing the creation of an inclusive learning environment. Though Freirean pedagogies are not typical teaching approaches in engineering education capacities, its perspectives use student-centered experiences in the learning process which promotes all-embracing spaces. In an inclusive classroom, all voices, no matter the background, have an equal opportunity to thrive, add, and craft to the science community dialogue including engineering education.
AU - Cassandra Puletapuai
AU - Daniel Birmingham
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Renewed Hope: Utilizing Freirean Pedagogies to Enhance Multicultural STEM Classrooms
UR - https://peer.asee.org/44167
DO - 10.18260/1-2--44167
ER -