The STEM Education Equity Paradox

 

The STEM Education Equity Paradox

 

CW: racism

 

Pressure to compete with Russia after the launch of Sputnik was a driving force in the United States’ interest in science and technology education. Through competing in the Cold War, the US began associating national prosperity and economic dominance with science and technology (Gonzalez & Kuenzi, 2012). Since the 1950s, pushes for increases in science, technology, and mathematics education for all American students have been justified by policy makers who believe that “widespread STEM literacy, as well as specific STEM expertise, to be critical human capital competencies for a 21st century economy” (Gonzalez & Kuenzi, 2012, p. 196). Despite this, access to quality STEM education, and subsequently the ability to participate in STEM jobs, has not been distributed equally, as systemic racism and classism have prevented marginalized people from accessing these opportunities. Corporations in a market-driven society can use this institutional racism to further exploit the poor and marginalized (e.g., through the over policing of black neighborhoods and subsequent profiting from prison labor) (Koepke, 2007). Late-stage capitalism in the United States requires both the promotion of STEM education and the subjugation of underserved communities to effectively compete in the world market. I argue that these two conflicting interests result in a homogeneous STEM workforce that specifically excludes marginalized people.

 

History of STEM Education and Inequality

 

         Inequality in STEM education in the United States is inextricably linked to slavery and the era of Jim Crow. After the Civil War and the end of slavery, Black people in the United States faced extreme discrimination and racism in education that perpetuated illiteracy (Collins & Margo, 2006). After slavery was abolished, but before the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education, many states took the “separate, but equal” approach to education, leaving Black students to attend separate institutions that were neglected and forgotten. While Brown v. Board of Education required schools to desegregate, The Federal Housing Administration perpetuated segregation by valuing houses in whiter neighborhoods higher than those in majority Black neighborhoods (Liu, 2004). Because school funding is partially determined by income and property taxes, and because lower-income neighborhoods have a higher proportion of Black and Brown students, white students tend to have more resources and more experienced math and science teachers in their classrooms, which gives them an inherent advantage (Ladson-Billings, 2009). White students also have more access to advanced K-12 STEM courses, which may increase their success in STEM degree programs (O’Hara, 2020). I have personally observed a lack of diversity at my own institutions. Black students and other students of color are also disproportionately affected by the school-to-prison pipeline, with black students being suspended and expelled three times more than white students (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). The school-to-prison pipeline occurs when K-12 students enter the justice system as juveniles and are therefore more likely to spend time in prison (Darensbourg et al., 2010) which limits their opportunities for higher education and high-paying STEM positions. Corporations can then capitalize on for-profit prison labor by purchasing goods manufactured by prisoners for a lower cost than the private market (Turner et al., 2022). These same corporations also profit from advances made by STEM experts, reinforcing the equity paradox.

Photo by Arthur S. Siegel, 1942

https://www.civilrightsteaching.org/desegregation/teaching-segregation-housing-education

The Atlantic, 2015 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-labor-in-america/406177/

Photo courtesy of Morrison Technology, 2021

https://www.morrisontech.edu/7-things-every-new-morrison-tech-grad-should-know/

#equityinSTEM #race #STEMeducation

References

Collins, W. J., & Margo, R. A. (2006). Historical perspectives on racial differences in schooling in the United States. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 1, 107-154.

 

Darensbourg, A., Perez, E., & Blake, J. J. (2010). Overrepresentation ofAfrican American Males in Exclusionary Discipline: The Role of School-Based Mental Health Professionals in Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline. Journal of African American Males in Education (JAAME), 1(3), 196-211.

 

Giroux, H. A. (2003). Spectacles of race and pedagogies of denial: Anti-black racist pedagogy under the reign of neoliberalism. Communication Education, 52(3-4), 191-211.

Gonzalez, H. B., & Kuenzi, J. J. (2012, August). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education: A primer. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. 

Koepke, D. J. (2007). Race, class, poverty, and capitalism. Race, Gender & Class, 189-205.

 

Ladson-Billings, G. (2009). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. John Wiley & Sons.

 

Liu, G. (2004). Brown, Bollinger, and beyond. Howard Law Journal, 47, 705-719.

O’Hara, R. M. (2022). STEM (ing) the tide: a critical race theory analysis in STEM education1. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 35(3), 986-998.

 

Turner, J., Rosenblat, M. O., Guruli, N., Flores, C., Desch, S., El Tayeb, K., ... & Walker, J. (2022). Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers.

 

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). National Assessment of Education Progress, science 2011, national results. Retrieved from http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/science_2011/