Approximately 25 years ago, an education task force visited and evaluated low-performing schools in New York. The team members examined the following: How were the schools performing? What factors contributed to their condition? How was the school community addressing the issue of low performance? What resources were needed to advance the improvement process? Educational equity matters, and so does STEM for all people.
Career Biases in Schools
The task force visited a regional vocational high school, now called a career and technical education (CTE) school. The team noticed that the black and brown students were overwhelmingly placed in “non-technical” classes. Cosmetology, hairdressing, nail salon, and secretarial science were offered to the girls. The male students, on the other hand, were steered toward carpentry, landscaping, and other programs that were deemed low-status programs. The other students—Asian and white—were primarily placed in the “more technical and academic courses,” like automotive technology, computer programming, medical assistance, medical technology, and similar courses of study.
A meeting with the school’s leadership staff resulted in them reporting that they were not aware of the correlation between race and ethnicity, on the one hand, and student placement and enrollment, on the other. When the data was shown, and the counselors were asked to explain the disparate approach to class assignments, they were flummoxed. Interestingly, the task force members arrived at the conclusion of the relationship between ethnicity and course assignments by looking at the classrooms. No data was necessary. In other words, the enrollment pattern and class assignments were visible to everyone who visited the school.
Have things changed?
Since then, there has been no significant improvement in the number of black and brown students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes and careers. Landivar (2013) noted that Blacks and Hispanics remain consistently underrepresented in STEM employment. In 2011, 11 percent of the workforce was Black, while 6 percent of STEM workers were Black (up from 2 percent in 1970). She also found that Hispanics comprised 7 percent of the STEM workforce. Several years later, Martinez and Gay Eld (2019) found that conditions had not significantly improved. They reported that Black men and women comprised 4.1 percent and 2.2 percent of the STEM workforce, respectively. Latino men and women comprised 5.3 and 1.7 percent of the STEM workforce.
According to the Pew Research Center (2018), Blacks and Hispanics remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math jobs, relative to their presence in the overall US workforce, particularly among workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Are schools offering a quality education?
Sixty-seven years since the historic case of Brown vs the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, the quality of the education for black and brown students lags that of the mainstream. STEM is among the areas that are the greatest challenges. Many guidance and career counselors, like those who worked at the aforementioned CTE, apparently fail to grasp the economic and social value of STEM for all.
Educational leaders are therefore tasked with, among other things, the challenge of making sure that teachers, school counselors, and other professionals appreciate the role of black and brown people in the development of science and technology. In addition, they must insist that all children are afforded the opportunity of receiving a first-class education, irrespective of the subject and the student to whom it is taught. Too often, the implicit bias of educators blinds them to the reality of the damage that they exact on students. Staats (2015) found that many well-minded teachers are unaware of the consequences of implicit bias.
Adults must be intentional and proactive in addressing and/or avoiding the negative consequences of implicit bias. The great African American human rights activist and leader Malcolm X recounted the incident in which one of his teachers told him that he was better suited for carpentry than he was for law. This occurred even though the young Malcolm was a bright and articulate student. Somehow, the teacher seemed to have been unable to see him as an attorney.
The Importance of Role Models and Representation
Policymakers and others need to champion the work of the great African American inventors and scientists so that, among other things, our young people can see images of role models who look like them.
A casual reading of history reveals a rich list of Blacks in the STEM field (Fouché 2003; Gubert et al. 2002, among others). African Americans are not new to or incapable of handling the rigors associated with pursuing careers in STEM fields. It is not the purpose of this chapter to ascribe motives to people’s actions. The challenge is to confront the situations as they occur and develop strategies for addressing the shortcomings.
This is critically important during this period in our country’s history, a time during which many are marginalized, and attempts to address such marginalization and its impact are met with hostility.
School leaders must work with all staff, particularly those like the counselors who “steered” the black and brown students away from the more technical and academic STEM courses. Their actions are demonstrative of the damage that is inflicted on black and brown students by well-minded but misguided educators.
Why the fuss about STEM?
Should we not consider all subjects and courses of study, along with the resultant careers, as important? All subjects, classes, and careers are important. However, the rapidly evolving social and economic landscape requires us to engage our students in ways that enable them to be successful in the 21st century. Several organizations have reported that today’s economy and workforce require competency and mastery of STEM to move our society forward and, moreover, to be competitive in the 21st century.
The Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress (2021) argues that “increasing participation in STEM fields among women and marginalized communities is one way to drive future innovation. Research has shown that if more women and Black Americans were engaged in the technical innovation that leads to patents, U.S. GDP per capita could be 0.6 to 4.4 percent higher.”
The Committee also argues that a barrier to such involvement is the digital divide that has plagued this country for much too long.
What is the digital divide?
This digital divide is further exacerbated by racial disparities, with 25 percent of Black teens reporting that they are sometimes or often unable to complete homework assignments because of a lack of a reliable computer or internet connection, compared to 13 percent of White teens and 17 percent of Hispanic teens.73 As schools have relied on online learning during the pandemic, children’s ability to fully participate in their learning and grow their human capital has decreased based on their family’s economic and racial demographics.
The Fingerprints of STEM
Everything that we do seems to have a STEM connection, whether it is driving your vehicle, writing a letter, or taking a shower. Not only are these anecdotal statements evidential of the ubiquitous nature of STEM, the US Department of Commerce (2017) states that:
Employment in STEM occupations grew much faster than employment in non-STEM occupations over the last decade (24.4 percent versus 4.0 percent, respectively), and STEM occupations are projected to grow by 8.9 percent from 2014 to 2024, compared to 6.4 percent growth for non-STEM occupations. STEM workers command higher wages, earning 29 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts in 2015. This pay premium has increased since our previous report, which found a STEM wage advantage of 26 percent in 2010. Nearly three-quarters of STEM workers have at least a college degree, compared to just over one-third of non-STEM workers.
Given the importance of STEM, it goes to reason that all sectors of our population ought to be involved in its development if this country wants to be economically competitive on the world stage.
References
Fouché, R. (2003). Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, and Shelby J. Davidson. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Fund, C. and Parker, K. (2018). Blacks in STEM Jobs are Especially Concerned about Diversity and Discrimination in the Workplace. Report of the Pew Research Center.
Gubert, B., Kaplan, M.S., and Fannin, C.M. (2002). Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science. Westport, CT, Oryx Press.
Landivar, L.C. (2013). Disparities in STEM Employment by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin. American Community Survey Reports. September.
Martínez, A. and Gay eld, A. (2019). The Intersectionality of Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin in the STEM Workforce. Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division U.S. Census Bureau SEHSD Working Paper Number 2018-27.
Staats, C. (2015). Understanding Implicit Bias. What Educators Should Know. United Federation of Teachers.
United States Department of Commerce. (2017). STEM Jobs: 2017 Update.
United States House of Representatives. (2021). Joint Economic Committee Congress of the United States on the 2021 Economic Report of The President. X, M. (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine Books.
About the Author
DR. FADHILIKA ATIBA-WEZA
Dr. Fadhilika Atiba-Weza is the Executive Director of the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE). He is an educator with more than forty years of experience, having previously worked as a classroom teacher, building administrator, district administrator, and university faculty member.
At NABSE he provides administrative leadership as the Chief Executive Officer and National Spokesperson of the organization.
A former school superintendent, Dr. Atiba-Weza has been involved in many educational reform and school improvement projects. Additionally, he has served on the boards of the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS), and the New York State Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), among others.
Dr. Atiba-Weza is a social activist with involvement in many African, African American, and Caribbean organizations.
He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the City College of the City University of New York, a Master’s Degree in Education Guidance and Counseling from the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the City College of the City University of New York, a Master of Education Degree in Organizational Leadership from Columbia University’s Teachers College and his Doctor of Education Degree from The Sage College of Albany.
He is a member of many professional and civic organizations including life membership in the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, along with membership in the American Association of School Administrators, the American Educational Research Association, the Caribbean Studies Association, and the Sigma Pi Phi professional fraternity.
An avid gardener, jazz enthusiast, and golfer, Dr. Atiba-Weza resides in the New York Capital District.
