Elder Black Women Science Teachers (Re)member: An Examination of Science Identity Formation for Curious Young Black Girls

Abstract

To specifically add to the literature on Black girls cultivating their science genius, Black women science teachers ‘talk back’ by sharing and developing their own narratives about being a science-curious young Black girl and how they use that experience to actualize their vision for liberatory science teaching. This international, qualitative study centers the (re)flections and pedagogical practices of five “elder” Black women science teachers who have surpassed and live within some of the confines of “science as white property.” Utilizing an Endarkened Feminist Epistemology, participants engage in the art of (re)membering by writing poems to their former young Black girl self as a result of (re)flecting on creating the educational structures they wish they had experienced. The findings and discussion indicate that access to science professionals at home or a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship gave the participants the privilege to be curious. Despite these privileges these women had to persist through the culture of science that told them they didn't belong. Yet and still, they speak back with power and a determination to be seen and heard. This study provides implications for the curricular shifts and ideologies that honor Black girls in K-8 formal science spaces by merging liberatory teaching frameworks in science teaching and learning. Implications are also provided for professional development for Black women science teachers and other historically excluded groups, giving them space to (re)flect and to unearth their truth through reflecting on their history and collaborating with peers.