Undergraduate Mentors’ Perspectives on Equity-Oriented STEM Outreach

Abstract

This paper explores undergraduate mentors’ perspectives on, and participation in, “Bringing STEM to Life: Work Integrated Learning in Physics” (BSTL), a work-integrated, equity-oriented STEM outreach program administered by the kindergarten to industry (k2i) academy at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering. To that end, this study brings Feminist Science and Technology Studies and critical pedagogy to bear on a three-phase methodological approach to generating and analyzing qualitative data pertaining to the mentorship component of BSTL. Preliminary findings suggest that (1) undergraduate mentors bring complex STEM motivations, shaped by intersecting marginalized identities, to bear on their mentorship duties; (2) mentors possess nuanced yet occasionally contradictory understandings of STEM, equity, and society; and (3) mentors’ experiences in the BSTL program are variable but positive. These findings suggest that outreach programs can expand their capacity to generate equitable outcomes by actively supporting the creation of STEM counterspaces, foregrounding equity training, and exposing mentors to critical theoretical perspectives on STEM, equity, and society.