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Organized after-school activities can play a vital role in supporting historically marginalized youth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), yet less is known about how culturally responsive practices—which are practices that integrate youths’ cultural backgrounds and lived experiences into learning—are enacted in math-focused learning spaces. Drawing on empowerment theory and critical youth empowerment frameworks, this qualitative study examines how culturally responsive practices foster empowerment among middle school students participating in a university-based after-school math enrichment program. Ninety-two students (Mage = 12.26 years; 47% girls; 86% Latine) from three under-resourced schools in Southern California participated in semi-structured interviews about moments when they felt empowered and what contributed to those experiences. Thematic analysis revealed that all four domains of culturally responsive practices helped promote empowerment: structured opportunities for contribution and leadership, caring relationships, cultural affirmation, and efforts to make real-world connections. In particular, students most frequently described structured opportunities for contribution and leadership, practices that centered their knowledge and voices, and relational climates characterized by care and high expectations. The findings suggest that in after-school STEM contexts, empowerment does not arise as an isolated individual trait but is part of a relational and context-dependent process that is supported by culturally responsive practices. These findings highlight how intentional, culturally responsive program design can advance both youth empowerment and equity-oriented STEM education. 

Latine students in the United States face persistent barriers to educational opportunities, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Although organized after-school activities hold promise as structural supports for adolescents marginalized in STEM, more research is needed to understand how to make them effective, empowering spaces for all students. Culturally responsive practices have been shown to be beneficial in classrooms and may offer a promising approach but have been understudied in after-school activities. Grounded in culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive practices, this qualitative study explored students’ perceptions of culturally responsive practices within a university-based after-school math enrichment activity. MethodsIn winter and spring 2024, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 purposefully selected middle school students (58% girls, 100% Latine) from the larger population of 104 student participants of an after-school math enrichment activity. Reflexive thematic analyses explored student-identified culturally responsive learning practices at the after-school activity and how they compared to in-school learning practices. ResultsBased on deductive and inductive coding of the qualitative data, adolescents identified practices spanning all theoretical domains of culturally responsive practices as central to their learning in the after-school activity. Students described how these practices enhanced their confidence, persistence, and engagement in mathematics. Though some practices resembled those they experienced in school (e.g., collaborative problem solving), students emphasized that the after-school activity also provided unique opportunities—such as individualized guidance, youth-led approaches, and a reduced emphasis on grades—that made them feel more supported, and that the math they learned was relevant to their lives. ConclusionsFindings provide empirical evidence that culturally responsive practices can be meaningfully enacted in after-school STEM activities and experienced positively by Latine youth. By affirming students’ cultural identities and leveraging their strengths, these practices helped create inclusive environments where adolescents viewed themselves as capable math learners. As after-school STEM activities continue to expand, embedding culturally responsive practices offers a promising pathway to broadening participation and supporting students’ persistence and success in STEM. 

Scholars have increasingly argued that we need to attend to adolescents’ race, ethnicity, and culture in after-school activities to ensure positive effects. Still, little is known about adolescents’ perceptions of culturally responsive practices in after-school activities (i. e., the use of diverse teaching practices, cultural engagement, and affirming diverse language preferences), including whether they are stable over time and beneficial to Latine adolescents, who are minoritized in U.S. society. Theoretically, culturally responsive practices are expected to help after-school activities meet adolescents’ three basic needs as conceptualized by self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Findings based on 134 Latine adolescents (53% girls, Mage =11.74 years) participating in an afterschool math enrichment activity suggest adolescents’ perceptions of culturally responsive practices in the activity were moderately stable from winter to spring. There were no significant differences in adolescents’ perceptions of culturally responsive practices based on gender or preferred language (i. e., English or Spanish), and significant positive associations emerged between adolescents’ perceptions of diverse teaching practices and their feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This study offers insights for future theory development in the after-school field, particularly in the context of program quality, culturally responsive practices, and their implications for adolescent development and well-being. 

The present study investigated the longitudinal direct and indirect relations between mothers’ and fathers’ math ability self-concept, their child-specific math performance expectations and encouragement of math and science-related activities at home, and girls’ and boys’ math ability self-concept. Structural equation models were performed with longitudinal data from three waves of the Childhood and Beyond Study (CAB). The final sample consisted of 517 children and their mothers and fathers. The majority of children attended 2nd (26.1%), 3rd (25.5%) or 5th (40.4%) grade at first measurement point. Our results suggest that mothers and fathers with higher math ability self-concepts had higher expectations of their sons and encouraged their sons more, but not their daughters. Fathers’ math ability self-concept was indirectly related to the self-concept of their sons and this association was mediated by performance expectations. Furthermore, both boys and girls profited from their fathers’ expectations and girls benefitted from their fathers’ encouragement of math and science-related activities at home. In contrast, we found no effects from mothers’ beliefs and behaviors on child’s math ability self-concept. The findings underscore the relevance of fathers’ educational participation in the development of the math self-concept of ability of their children. 

Abstract IntroductionParents' science support and adolescents' motivational beliefs are associated with adolescents' expectations for their future occupations; however, these associations have been mostly investigated among White, middle‐class samples. Framed by situated expectancy‐value theory, the current study investigated: (1) the associations between parents' science support in 9th grade and Latine adolescents' science intrinsic value, utility value, and STEM career expectations in 11th grade, and (2) whether these indicators and the relations among them differed by adolescents' gender and parents' education. MethodsStudy participants included Latine adolescents (n = 3060;M_age = 14.4 years old; 49% female) in the United States from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. ResultsAnalyses revealed a significant, positive association between parents' science support and Latine adolescents' science utility value. Additionally, there was a significant, positive association between parents' science support and Latinas' science intrinsic value, but not for Latinos' science intrinsic value. Latine adolescents' science utility value, but not their science intrinsic value, predicted their concurrent STEM career expectations. Though there were no significant mean level differences in adolescents' science utility value or parents' science support based on adolescents' gender, the measure of adolescents' science intrinsic value varied across girls and boys. Finally, adolescents whose parents had a college degree received greater science support from parents compared to adolescents whose parents had less education than a college degree. ConclusionFindings suggest parents' science support and adolescents' intrinsic and utility values have potential associations with Latine adolescents' STEM career expectations near the end of high school.