Designing informal learning spaces to support STEM identity development for Oromo youth in the Diaspora: A Situative perspective

Abstract

What does it mean for East African Immigrant adolescents to see themselves in STEM? What does that look like and how can this be approached? Although there are recent studies on how to support identity development and negotiations, and on students “seeing themselves” in science, in the context of informal science learning spaces, this has not been explored with the East African Immigrant population in the United States. Students from the East African Immigrant population possess identities that face layers of marginalization that include language, race, and socio-economic status. In this conceptual paper, I identify design characteristics that I believe will support the STEM identity development of adolescents from the East African Immigrant community in Seattle. I explore research studies that take up identity, and focus in on how these studies are organizing and designing learning spaces to support STEM identity development. In addition, I examine the practices they are incorporating to support identity development. I argue that a Situative perspective to understanding identity, its relationship to contextual factors, is important to understanding my target population and their experiences when thinking about designing STEM learning context to foster STEM identity development. This perspective takes into account the complexity of context, learning, identity development, power, and positionality--specifically, how the organization of a learning space can support or hinder motivation to engage in learning and identity negotiation. Through this research, I have come up with a set of principles of design and practices that I believe will support positive STEM identity development for my target population. I hypothesize that the following principles will support identity development; students seeing themselves in their learning spaces, connecting what students are learning to their own lives, and the practice of positive positioning and to teach resilience through dialouge. What this means is the intentional practice of valuing student participation, contributors to learning space, and as STEM learners. As well as making aware the challenges they may face in their learning and future learning experiences. These principles combined provide practices that culturally and educationally are valued to the East African Immigrant community. In this paper, I expand on these principles and their importance.