The Influence of Family Engagement on Hispanic Youth Science Education

Abstract

As with many rural and western states in the U.S., Idaho is seeing a dramatic increase in Hispanic youth in the schools, in fact, Hispanic students are the fastest growing demographic in Idaho’s school system. Between the years 2000 and 2001, K-12 public schools in Idaho saw a 75% growth in enrollment by Hispanic students compared to only 8% growth in non-Hispanic students. However, results from the annual Idaho Standards and Achievement Test for 2013 demonstrate lower proficiency among Hispanic students in all subjects, especially science. The University of Idaho, with a generous gift from the Micron Foundation, conducted a 5 year study to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of parents, teachers, and elementary and secondary students with respect to science and STEM education. The research revealed significant differences in attitudes toward science and math between Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants, which provides insight into possible contributors to poor student achievement in science, as well as potential approaches to intervention. Research showed that Hispanic community members had a high level of distrust for scientists and found it difficult to navigate the educational system. Since family engagement appears to be essential to the interest and pursuit of science education, and early engagement of children may help overcome many barriers, a pilot program offering a bilingual preschool STEM camp to Hispanic children and their parents was conducted and assessed. This program highlighted the importance of family involvement in student learning and has led to the development of future lines of investigation of the interaction between cultural diversity and student engagement. This paper will describe the research that was conducted investigating participants’ attitudes, the results for Hispanic participants, and the pilot intervention and assessment, and will pose hypotheses for future research