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 12
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
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- STEM identity
- scale
- policy
- funding
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
