Representation of African-Americans STEM program
With the increasing advocacy for more engagement of more minority students in the STEM field, there is still a small percentage of African-American in the area is still low. Census data indicate that in 2010, African-Americans represented only three per cent of the engineers and scientists working in the STEM field. The barriers that bar African-Americans from pursuing professions in the STEM fields include lack of adequate resources and mentors or role models in that field.
The failing system for the African-Americans can also be attributed to their few numbers the STEM field. National Society of Black Engineers believes that most African-Americans do not have access to the rigorous courses in the STEM field, which makes it difficult for them to pursue a STEM degree.
The underrepresentation of African-Americans in the STEM field is not only caused by the failing system, but it can also be attributed to the brokenness they experience at the start. Majority of them come from broken families, which breed broken values, potential, hope, and ambitions. African-Americans also feel like they are not treated equitably with other races in the education and the legal system. They are therefore not motivated to get involved in the STEM field.
Research suggests that more than half of African-American children live in single-parent households and their fathers have abandoned their parental responsibilities. However, black families’ breakdown and the failure to take parental responsibilities do not entirely account for the underrepresentation of blacks in the STEM program (Grossman & Porche, 2014). The underrepresentation of African-American in the STEM program can be attributed to the broken system because the government has not been keen to create a fairer environment where all people can be included in the field equally. Claiming that African-Americans avoid the STEM program the same way they avoid their responsibilities cannot be true because there is no direct link between the two. Instead, the system carries the biggest burden of blame for the underrepresentation of the blacks in the program.
Work Cited
Grossman, J. M., & Porche, M. V. (2014). Perceived gender and racial/ethnic barriers to STEM success. Urban Education, 49(6), 698-727.