Bridging STEM & Sistahood: Exploring the STEM Learning Experiences of Black High School Girls Through Sista STEM Circles

This dissertation centers on the experiences of a purposive sample of Black high school girls, referred to as Sista STEM Scholars (n=13), to examine how they navigate STEM learning spaces. Historically, Black girls have been overlooked in STEM education, facing exclusion due to race and gender. The scholars’ reflections on their STEM journeys provided an in-depth analysis of how systemic barriers, racialized and gendered marginalization, and the absence of culturally affirming learning spaces impact their engagement and persistence in STEM. Guided by Black feminist thought (Collins, 2000) and employing the Sista circle methodology (Johnson, 2015), this critical qualitative study interrogated STEM learning environments as racialized and gendered spaces that shape Black girls’ opportunities, sense of belonging, and self-perception in STEM education. Additionally, this research examined scholars’ participation in the Sista STEM Scholars Program (S3P), a culturally affirming counter space, to explore how Black girls use S3P as a site of epistemic agency, resistance, and community building. This dissertation extends the scholarship on Black girls in STEM by positioning the Sista STEM Scholars as knowledge producers who actively theorize their own STEM experiences. The study addressed three primary research questions: (a) What are the lived experiences of Black high school girls in STEM learning spaces? (b) What aspects of the S3P resonated most with Black high school girls? And (c) How do the intersectional identities of race and gender shape the experiences of Black high school girls in STEM learning spaces? Findings from this dissertation revealed how Black girls conceptualize their STEM learning experiences through three overarching themes: 1. Academic and social marginalization in STEM spaces: Black girls experience exclusionary teaching practices, racialized invisibility, and deficit-based expectations, reinforcing systemic inequities that shape their confidence and belonging in STEM. 2. Resisting and redefining Black girlhood in STEM: Scholars push back against stereotypes, disrupt the status quo, and reclaim their identities as STEM learners through self-advocacy, collective dialogue, and identity affirmation as Black girls in S3P. 3. The transformative role of culturally affirming STEM spaces: Scholars found validation, mentorship, and sisterhood in S3P, illustrating the power of counterspaces in fostering a sense of belonging, self-confidence, and STEM identity development. By entering the scholars’ lived experiences, this dissertation opposes deficit-based narratives that depict their STEM participation solely through the lens of struggle. Instead, it highlights their creativity, agency, and collective resistance, offering a new vision for STEM education. This vision is one that is culturally sustaining, community-centered, and affirming of Black girlhood. This study contributes to research, policy, and practice recommendations for designing humanizing STEM learning spaces that support and empower Black girls.