‘STILL I’LL RISE’: EXPLORING GIRLS’ PARTICIPATION DURING LITERACY-RICH STEM EXPERIENCES

Abstract

True equity and justice in our society will be achieved when we reach a day where no structures: systemic, racial, gender, ethnic, financial, or any other factor will impede people from pursuing and achieving their goals and reaching their full potential. To get on that path, the work starts now. This dissertation examines how girls participate during literacy-rich STEM experiences in a girls-only summer camp versus a mixed-gender camp. Using a qualitative collective case study design situated in critical sociocultural perspectives, participants’ participation was analyzed through the lenses of cognition, emotion, and behavior. Data sources included video data of students participating in literacy-rich STEM activities such as using resources to design and plant a garden or to hypothesize and calculate the impact of an invasive species. When coding cognition, observable higher order thinking behaviors were categorized as either analysis, application, or evaluation. Emotional responses were classified as positive (for example, expressing joy), or negative (for example, expressing frustration). Behavior data were categorized as either interactional or irrelevant to the activity. Furthermore, the data were examined to determine whether the added literacy was needed to complete the STEM task in an authentic way. Additionally, this study explored how integrating literacy into STEM benefits diverse learners from groups who are under-represented in STEM professions, such as girls. Analysis showed that how girls’ participation changes when STEM activities are literacy-rich is multi-faceted and depends on the facilitator’s ability, ample wait time, and exposure to the material more than once.