Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Student Perceptions Of Indigenous Science Co-Educators, Interest In Stem, And Identity As A Scientist: A Pilot Study, Sarah Alkholy, Fidji Gendron, Tanya Dahms, Maria Pontes Ferreira

Nutrition and Food Science Faculty Research Publications

Minorities are underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, post-secondary STEM education, and show high academic attrition rates. Academic performance and retention improve when culturally relevant support is provided. The interface of Western science and Indigenous science provides an opportunity for bridging this divide. We hypothesized that there would be regional (U.S.A. vs. Canada) differences amongst post-secondary students regarding these variables: perceptions of traditional Elders as STEM co-educators; interest in STEM; and self-identity as a scientist. We conducted a short-term longitudinal pilot study of an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional, and cross-cultural STEM course in the spring of 2013. This …