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1. Justice‐centered STEM education with multilingual learners to address societal challenges: A conceptual framework

   https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21999  

   Lee, Okhee; Grapin, Scott (May 2025, Journal of Research in Science Teaching)

   Abstract We propose a conceptual framework for STEM education that is centered around justice for minoritized groups. Justice‐centered STEM education engages all students in multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to explain and design solutions to societal challenges disproportionately impacting minoritized groups. We articulate the affordances of justice‐centered STEM education for one minoritized student group that has been traditionally denied meaningful STEM learning: multilingual learners (MLs). Justice‐centered STEM education with MLs leverages the assets they bring to STEM learning, including their transnational experiences and knowledge as well as their rich repertoire of meaning‐making resources. In this position paper, we propose our conceptual framework to chart a new research agenda on justice‐centered STEM education to address societal challenges with all students, especially MLs. Our conceptual framework incorporates four interrelated components by leveraging the convergence of multiple STEM disciplines to promote justice‐centered STEM education with MLs: (a) societal challenges in science education, (b) justice‐centered data science education, (c) justice‐centered computer science education, and (d) justice‐centered engineering education. The article illustrates our conceptual framework using the case of the COVID‐19 pandemic, which has presented an unprecedented societal challenge but also an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate MLs' assets toward promoting justice in STEM education. Finally, we describe how our conceptual framework establishes the foundation for a new research agenda that addresses increasingly complex, prevalent, and intractable societal challenges disproportionately impacting minoritized groups. We also consider broader issues pertinent to our conceptual framework, including the social and emotional impacts of societal challenges; the growth of science denial and misinformation; and factors associated with politics, ideology, and religion. Justice‐centered STEM education contributes to solving societal challenges that K‐12 students currently face while preparing them to shape a more just society. 

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2. The Quantum for All Project: Student Outcomes and Connection to Teacher Professional Development

   Matsler, K; Lopez, R (January 2026, IOP)

   The Quantum for All project is designed to expand Quantum Information Science education in precollege education. The professional development model includes an opportunity for teachers to learn QIS and then teach a summer camp. In this presentation, we will examine growth in student knowledge and confidence in the QIS, as well as attitudes the students have around the topics and careers in QIS. We will also correlate these findings with teacher content knowledge and confidence for the various topics, since some topics were initially unfamiliar to the teachers. 

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3. Enabling factors and barriers for adopting engineering curricula in high schools: School, district, and state administrator perspectives

   Dalal, M.; Carberry, A. (July 2021, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition)

   null (Ed.)

   Pre-college engineering education has been on a sharp rise in the United States. Numerous schools offer some variation of an engineering curricula, but challenges remain regarding socio-cultural perceptions of engineering, teacher training, curricular alignment with state standards, and policy decisions. Many past studies have examined students’ and teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs regarding pre-college engineering instruction. Few studies have investigated the viewpoints of school administrators, or state and district personnel. This qualitative study investigated perspectives of three such administrators in a southwest US public high school. The school was one of nine pilot locations offering a new engineering course designed to ‘demystify’ engineering for high school students and teachers from all walks of life. Results converged around four major themes: 1) relevance and current state of pre-college engineering education, 2) teacher certification and professional development, 3) industry connections, and 4) expectations of pre-college engineering curricula. The resulting themes shed light on long standing issues affecting adoption of engineering at the pre-college level and highlight a few areas that upcoming pre-college engineering education programs could focus on. 

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4. AI in Computer Science Education: Tool, Subdomain, and Wildcard

   Smith, Julie M (May 2024, Proceedings of the International Convention MIPRO)

   The future of AI will be determined in part by how its developers are educated. Thus, how computer science (CS) education incorporates instruction in various aspects of AI will have a substantial impact on AI's evolution. Understanding how and what CS educators think about AI education is, therefore, an important piece of the landscape in anticipating -- and shaping -- the future of AI. However, little is known about how educators perceive the role of AI education in CS education, and there is no consensus yet regarding what AI topics should be taught to all students. This paper helps to fill that gap by presenting a qualitative analysis of data collected from high school CS instructors, higher education CS faculty, and those working in the tech industry as they reflected on their priorities for high school CS instruction and on anticipated changes in high school, college, and workplace CS. We conclude with recommendations for the CS education research community around AI in K-12, particularly at the high school level. 

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5. Missed Opportunity for Diversity in Engineering: Black Women and Undergraduate Engineering Degree Attainment

   https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120986918  

   Fletcher, Trina L; Jefferson, Jay P; Boyd, Brittany N; Cross, Kelly J (August 2023, Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice)

   Efforts dedicated towards broadening participation for Black and other underrepresented groups in engineering at post-secondary institutions has intensified in recent decades. However, Black women have not yet reached parity in undergraduate engineering degree attainment. To elucidate this trend, data from the U.S. Department of Education was analyzed to investigate postsecondary completion for Black women in engineering. Results indicate that the percentage of degrees awarded to Black women has slightly decreased during the last five years when compared to women of all races. However, the percentage of Black women obtaining engineering degrees has increased when compared to the general Black engineering population, with a larger percentage of Black women obtaining engineering degrees compared to their male counterparts than any other ethnicity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations for research avenues that may strengthen knowledge around the enrollment and retention of Black women in engineering at post-secondary institutions. 

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