New Perspectives in Science Education

Although progress has been made in the movement towards equality, discrimination is still an issue that is faced in today by underrepresented groups, particularly in professional environments. Black and Latinx individuals who exist in predominately White workspaces rely on identity switching to survive these environments by being deemed “socially acceptable”, but in doing so, create turmoil within themselves that cause lasting trauma and psychological strain (Dickens & Chavez, 2018; McGee, 2016). This trauma is a contributor to the “leaky pipeline” of minorities in STEM fields (Tran et al., 2013), where underrepresented groups have been shown to leave STEM fields due to conflicts that arise while shifting between their emerging identity in science and the other core identities that shape who they are and how they view themselves. The “Big Ole Geeks” music video created by Black woman scientist Raven the Science Maven is an unprecedented work of digital media that quickly gained popularity on social media, and generated a diversity of conversations about STEM identity, and identity switching. The video showcases Black women scientists rapping scientific lyrics, while embracing their own identities and not identity switching to Eurocentric science culture. The widespread popularity of the video presented a unique opportunity to conduct research on the responses to the video. STEM identity is included in the framework of social identity theory, which suggests that identity formation can rely on role models in the media (Steinke 2017). Recent studies in STEM identity highlight the importance of Black women self‐authoring their identities in STEM contexts (Morton & Parsons, 2018). Being that there is an intersectional gap in the representation of Black women in STEM in the media, this study is incredibly important and unique in nature as it provides unprecedented imagery of Black women authoring their own identities in science. Twenty adult study participants were interviewed individually and in focus groups to discuss their views of the “Big Ole Geeks” music video in the context of STEM identity. The data was coded for emerging trends, and the tentative conclusions of this study indicate that there is not only a high demand from Black women scientists for positive and alternative representation of Black women in STEM, but also for non-traditional messages of empowerment for Black women in STEM. The tentative findings of the study also conclude that such media will have a positive influence on STEM identity for women of color, which as a result may improve the “leaky pipeline” of Black women in STEM.

Keywords: STEM identity, science identity, science digital media, culturally responsive teaching, culturally relevant teaching, equity and diversity in STEM.

References:
[1] Dickens, D., & Chavez, E. (2018). Navigating the Workplace: The Costs and Benefits of Shifting Identities at Work among Early Career U.S. Black Women. Sex Roles, 222, 78(11-12), 760–774.
[2] McGee, E. O. (2016). Devalued Black and Latino Racial Identities: A By-Product of STEM College Culture? American Educational Research Journal, 53(6), 1626–1662. 
[3] Morton, T., & Parsons, E. (2018). #BlackGirlMagic: The identity conceptualization of Black women in undergraduate STEM education. Science Education,102(6), 1363–1393.
[4] Steinke, J. (2017). Adolescent girls’ STEM identity formation and media images of STEM professionals: Considering the influence of contextual cues. Frontiers in psychology,8, 716.
[5] Tran, M., Chang, M., Grijalva, C., Hurtado, S., & Santos, J. (2011). How can students be scientists and still be themselves: Understanding the intersectionality of science identity and multiple social identities through graduate student experiences.