An after-school STEM program through the lens of intersectionality

Abstract

This article employs the six tenets of intersectional research to examine the interconnections of oppression, relationality, complexity, context, deconstruction, and comparison that shape study participants’ experiences. This study was conducted at an after-school STEM program in a poverty-demographic through the lens of intersectionality. This is important because present literature that examines urban demographics and underserved students does not take into consideration the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and citizenship as this study reveals. Digital badges, individually awarded to students upon successful completion of 28 small-skill videos while programming in MIT App Inventor, yielded data about persistence through increasingly difficult coding techniques which is a desirable trait for individuals interested in pursuing STEM-focused high schools or professional careers. The results of this study reveal that the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and citizenship create a void of power such that children living in this poverty demographic have diminished access to authentic STEM environments and opportunities.