Scholarlink

Background <p>Informal STEM education (ISE) programs provide mentorship and opportunities to explore STEM concepts and practices outside of traditional classroom settings and have shown promise in broadening participation, particularly among youth with systemically excluded identities in STEM. Many ISE programs engage undergraduate students as facilitators and near-peer mentors for the youth participants. Our study uses the Community Cultural Wealth framework to identify the ways in which undergraduate Students of Color who serve as facilitators apply cultural capital in their roles in an afterschool ISE program with youth who share salient identities and lived experiences.</p> Results <p>Twelve interviews were analyzed with the Community Cultural Wealth framework to investigate how ISE facilitators use and share cultural capital with youth participants within their near-peer mentor roles. All six forms of capital were evident in the interviewees’ responses, as undergraduate facilitators drew on, and in some cases deepened, their capital to support and connect with youth in ISE settings. Familial and aspirational capital shaped facilitators’ STEM trajectories and contributed to their desire to mentor youth. Navigational and resistant capital enabled facilitators to challenge institutional barriers, share their knowledge with youth, and advocate for representation within STEM. Facilitators deepened their social capital by building relationships with fellow facilitators and program staff. Linguistic capital, specifically multilingualism, allowed facilitators to communicate with youth in a way that fostered inclusive learning environments.</p> Conclusions <p>These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of informal STEM programs. Practitioners should intentionally recognize and build on the cultural wealth that Students of Color, both youth and facilitators, bring to these spaces. Doing so requires creating program structures that not only support the development of undergraduate facilitators but also affirm their role as knowledgeable, influential near-peer mentors.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Undergraduate facilitators of informal STEM education programs use and develop community cultural wealth in their roles

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月17日

查看全文
  • Raquel Yoshinaga,
  • Kayleen Diaz,
  • Brean Prefontaine,
  • Mallory M. Rice,
  • Edward Price

摘要

Background

Informal STEM education (ISE) programs provide mentorship and opportunities to explore STEM concepts and practices outside of traditional classroom settings and have shown promise in broadening participation, particularly among youth with systemically excluded identities in STEM. Many ISE programs engage undergraduate students as facilitators and near-peer mentors for the youth participants. Our study uses the Community Cultural Wealth framework to identify the ways in which undergraduate Students of Color who serve as facilitators apply cultural capital in their roles in an afterschool ISE program with youth who share salient identities and lived experiences.

Results

Twelve interviews were analyzed with the Community Cultural Wealth framework to investigate how ISE facilitators use and share cultural capital with youth participants within their near-peer mentor roles. All six forms of capital were evident in the interviewees’ responses, as undergraduate facilitators drew on, and in some cases deepened, their capital to support and connect with youth in ISE settings. Familial and aspirational capital shaped facilitators’ STEM trajectories and contributed to their desire to mentor youth. Navigational and resistant capital enabled facilitators to challenge institutional barriers, share their knowledge with youth, and advocate for representation within STEM. Facilitators deepened their social capital by building relationships with fellow facilitators and program staff. Linguistic capital, specifically multilingualism, allowed facilitators to communicate with youth in a way that fostered inclusive learning environments.

Conclusions

These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of informal STEM programs. Practitioners should intentionally recognize and build on the cultural wealth that Students of Color, both youth and facilitators, bring to these spaces. Doing so requires creating program structures that not only support the development of undergraduate facilitators but also affirm their role as knowledgeable, influential near-peer mentors.