Abstract
This chapter is about introducing critical race design (CRD), a research methodology that centers race and equity at the center of educational opportunities by design. First, the authors define design-based implementation research (DBIR) as an equity-oriented education research methodology where teaching and learning is informed by robust, iterative, evidence-based research conducted by multiple stakeholders. Next, they provide a brief overview of critical race theory in education (CRT) as a theoretical and methodological approach that aims to unpack and disrupt the structural inequities experienced by disenfranchised racial groups. The authors then describe how both education methodologies inform CRD, and their emerging anti-racist critical design methodology.
TopIntroduction
In the United States, there is an underrepresentation of women and professionals of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers (Tsui, 2007). With a similar underrepresentation reflected in the K-12 STEM classrooms, traditional mathematics and science instruction needs to be more accessible to nondominant students (Tate, 1997; 2001). While the phenomenon of underrepresentation for women of color in STEM may start during the early school years, it accumulates over time within colleges and universities. For example, although women among African American, Latina/o, and Native American undergraduates are more likely than men to complete college degrees within six years, those aspiring to major in STEM fields at college entry were significantly less likely than their underrepresented minority (URM) male counterparts to be retained in STEM (Hurtado et al., 2012a). At the postsecondary level, there have been a number of commonly used strategies to recruit and retain underrepresented young adults in STEM courses and careers including summer bridge programs, mentoring, development of research internships, college-level tutoring, career counseling, academic centers, advising, and learning centers (Tsui, 2007).
Evidence of this is seen in higher and adult education when pre- and post-graduates participate in service- learning experiences as both a means for continuing their education while simultaneously influencing and engaging with the community (Gasman & Commodore, 2014; Stanton, Giles, & Cruz, 1999). The combination of open access to higher education and federally funded programs in career and technical education (CTE) have, by design, provided similar opportunities to youth and young adults seeking to pursue alternate pathways to STEM careers (Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA], 1965). Similarly, the goals of CTE have been introduced to the mainstream K-12 setting through College and Career Ready Standards, more specifically in the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010; Darling-Hammond, Wilhoit, & Pittenger, 2014). The inclusion of College and Career Ready Standards into K-12 education settings requires educators to forefront career pathways as opposed to assuming careers are a byproduct of learning (Herrington & Daubenmire, 2016; Stage, Asturias, Cheuk, Daro, & Hampton, 2013). However, including CTE in lesson designs can be a challenge as such programs may reinforce a system of education based on advantage (Tatum, 2003) where nondominant groups are overrepresented in the lower half of the hourglass global economy (Sassen, 2001).
Key Terms in this Chapter
E-Communities Program: A purposeful merging the interests of all stakeholders and prioritizing the inclusion of nondominant voices that are traditionally disempowered with access into the STEM fields.
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Critical Race Theory (CRT): A theoretical and methodological approach that aims to unpack and disrupt the structural inequities experienced by disenfranchised racial groups.
Critical Race Design (CRD): A research methodology that centers race and equity at the center of educational opportunities by design.
Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR): An equity-oriented education research methodology where teaching and learning is informed by robust, iterative, evidence-based research conducted by multiple stakeholder s.
URM: Underrepresented minority.
Critique of Liberalism: Recognized the fallacy of liberal ideologies such as institutions being meritocratic, objective, or neutral towards subordinated groups.