Organizing for material possibility in a community-led science program

ABSTRACT This case study examined how Mexican-American community educators developed material repertoires of practice to support a just and environmentally conscious afterschool program. Based on historical, environmental, economic, and sociopolitical circumstances, educators designed imaginative learning opportunities for predominantly working-class youth through the thoughtful cultivation of discarded, donated, and natural materials. Through these designs, educators offered young people new pathways for learning in their community. The author traced the constitutive relationships between the afterschool program, young people, educators, community, and the material environment to understand how these practices supported justice-oriented STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) education. The community educators created new “material possibilities” through practices of repurposing and developing material-rich projects to support youth. Simultaneously, they critiqued material consumption with youth in order to push back on an extractive economy that did not support a thriving community and environment. This work builds on the notion of material possibility in order to extend our pedagogical imaginations.