Latinas Pathways to STEM

List of Figures

Chapter One

Figure 1.1 CMF analysis. Reproduced with permission from Springer.
Source: Gallard Martínez, Pitts, Ramos de Robles, Milton Brkich, Flores Bustos & Claeys (2018)

Chapter Three

Figure 3.1 This is a conceptual flowchart for CMF analysis which indicates how the spectrum of intersecting CMFs are formed. The multidimensional networks of macro-, meso-, and microgenic CMFs can produce intercontextual places we have theorized as potential limit-situations. This figure is reproduced with permission from Springer

Chapter Seven

Figure 7.1 STEM classroom interactions

About the Authors

Alejandro J. Gallard Martínez, Ph.D., is a Professor and Goizueta Distinguished Chair in the Middle and Secondary Department at Georgia Southern University. Alejandro’s interests include researching societal complexities promulgated by contextual mitigating factors (CMFs) that contribute to students’ success (or lack of success) in general and in the STEM fields. His frameworks include global perspectives on differences, otherness, polyphony of voices, and meaning-making that reflects categories used to situate people in social life. His current research efforts include working with an international team to understand what are the characteristics of Latinas and other underrepresented people who are successful in the STEM fields.

Wesley Pitts, Ph.D., is a Professor of Science Education in the Department of Middle and High School Education (MHSE), School of Education, Lehman College, CUNY. Dr. Pitts serves as Chair of MHSE. His research uses frameworks from cultural studies to investigate how encounters in urban secondary and post-secondary education settings and science teacher preparation programs create success in science education. His current research project includes using design-based approaches and contexts, including ePortfolios, in science teacher education to deepen integrative social pedagogy.

Belinda Flores Bustos, Ph.D., is currently an Associate Dean of Professional Preparation and Partnerships, and a Professor in the Department ←xi | xii→of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies, College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Flores has published five books and numerous articles centering on teacher development and attributes; teacher learning communities and communities of practice; teachers’ sociocultural knowledge; and teacher accountability. Recognitions included: 1st place award for Outstanding Dissertation from The National Association for Bilingual Education, 2000; and the 2004 UTSA President’s Distinguished Award for Research Excellence. In addition to being a scholar, Dr. Flores is the founder of the UTSA’s Academy for Teacher Excellence Research Center, which was honored in 2015 as a “Bright Spot in Hispanic Education” by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Dr. Flores was selected as the recipient of the 2015 Hispanic Research Issues SIG Elementary, Secondary, and Postsecondary Award. In 2019, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bilingual Research SIG.

Foreword

When my colleague, Dr. Alejandro Gallard Martínez, first approached me about writing this foreword, I admit I was hesitant. I study the way intersections of language, culture, and identity shape educational experiences for bilingual and Latinx folks. I work through arts-integrated methodologies and pedagogies to paint counter-narratives that center the experiences and stories of these often-marginalized communities. I’m not a Latina in STEM.

As I began to interrogate that declaration, I wondered how I’d ever arrived at such a conclusion. Maybe it reflects a limited view of what it means to do STEM work. My sister applies her extensive knowledge of human anatomy and chemistry in her daily practice as an aesthetician. But no one thinks of her as a STEM person. My brother, on the other hand, is a STEM person. He holds a Ph.D. in geology and does computer programming for a prestigious university in Switzerland. If I think back, I’m pretty sure he’s the only Latino in STEM I could have named, had I been asked before I began my graduate studies. But as for me, I’m not a STEM person.