Marginalized Youth Perspectives of School-based STEM Education Experiences

This dataset includes quotes from the transcribed interviews conducted with historically marginalized youth, ages 14-22. We define historically marginalized youth as those who “are excluded from privilege, resources, and/or opportunity based on an aspect of their identity” (Jones & Burrell, 2022, p. 1037), such as race/ethnicity, discourse patterns [home or community languages], or gender). The purpose of this work was to understand historically marginalized students' perspectives for improvements to school-based STEM education to realize equity, access, and belonging in STEM. Findings from the data analyses point to STEM teachers as key to shaping participant perceptions, using applied “real life” lessons and “hands on” instruction important for understanding and engaging with STEM concepts. Participants' perceptions of success and barriers for learning STEM were based on extrinsic and intrinsic factors. While students spoke of STEM areas that they found interesting both in and out of school, as well as awareness of how STEM courses lead to college and/or career opportunities, many were unsure of or uninterested in the STEM courses offered at their high school beyond the requirements for graduation.