Beyond the Bottom Line: Systemic Pathways to Identity-Responsive STEM Learning
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "STEM Education".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 670
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Education researchers and practitioners recognize that supporting learners in seeing themselves as capable, valued participants in STEM and its disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is critical in broadening participation and advancing equity. Identity-affirming STEM pedagogies have shown promise in transforming what “counts” as STEM participation and identifying as a “STEM person”. However, the true costs of training and supporting educators in facilitating this identity work remain underexplored, often hidden in budgets, policy gaps, or professional learning programs that are maintained across diverse funding sources.
We invite empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions that address the systemic conditions needed to nurture identity-affirming work in STEM learning environments. These include, but are not limited to, administrative support, funding structures, policy conditions, curriculum flexibility, and cross-sector partnerships. We especially welcome studies that acknowledge diversity in learning contexts, whether formal, informal, or community-based, and highlight transferable lessons across educator preparation, policy, and learner outcomes. We invite work that considers identity-affirming support for young people, educators, and community members outside of traditional learning institutions.
Submissions should explicitly engage with the question of how concepts like “cost”, “investment”, and “value” are defined, measured, and communicated when implementing and evaluating identity-affirming STEM practices. We welcome contributions that challenge the capitalistic use of these terms in discussing youth outcomes and offer alternative discourses.
Dr. Heidi Cian
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- STEM identity
- scale
- policy
- funding
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