Date of this Version

4-2023

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Using case study data, we illustrate the need for a more comprehensive model of STEM identity development that accounts for the STEM affiliation of youths, their caregivers, and siblings–not as a collection of individuals but as a coherent and functional unit. We introduce the concept of familial STEM identity as a framework on which to expand STEM identity development theory, particularly as it relates to learners whose social identities are tightly embedded in family relationships, values, and culture. We emphasize the value of familial STEM identity in the context of diversification of STEM fields and formal and informal STEM programming with related goals. We argue that such reframing is especially necessary when STEM institutional contexts drastically differ from those with which youths are comfortable outside of the institution. This work further implies that observation tools and program assessments should be designed to gauge the context’s compatibility with learners, reconstituting analytical lenses on the construction of learning contexts’ fit for youths and families with diverse experiences and insurgent dispositions, rather than on learners’ fit for learning contexts.

Comments

Paper presented at the 2023 NARST Annual International Conference, Chicago, IL

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