2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The STEM field for the underrepresented is analogous to the "leaky pipeline" metaphor, which describes the mass exodus of minority students over the course of time. Nationally, the attrition rate of STEM majors for underrepresented students failing degree completion hovers at 53 percent. Students of Color have endured many challenges in the STEM classroom, resembling isolation, stereotype threats, racial microaggressions, lack of confidence, diminished sense of belonging, and other hurdles as a result of race or gender. These factors contribute to the exclusivity in the STEM classroom. Many underrepresented students regard professors of Color as evidence of success and role models. Often, professors of Color connect with students of Color because of shared experiences. However, the pool of diverse faculty remains limited. A report revealed the racial makeup of 1.5 million postsecondary faculty as Asian/Pacific Islander males at 7 percent, Asian/Pacific Islander females at 5 percent, Black females at 4 percent, Black males, Hispanic males, and Hispanic females each at 3 percent, American Indian/Alaskan Native individuals, and individuals of two or more races at 1 percent. How can we encourage and advocate for students of Color in STEM and create an inclusive classroom while representation remains sparse with faculty identity alignment? This paper highlights the challenges faced by students of Color in STEM. We explore and synthesize Freirean pedagogies to offer strategies for higher education faculty to employ in their classrooms to overcome challenges, retain, and support students of Color in STEM fields similar to engineering. More importantly, we aim to provide approaches for enhancing the creation of an inclusive learning environment. Though Freirean pedagogies are not typical teaching approaches in engineering education capacities, its perspectives use student-centered experiences in the learning process which promotes all-embracing spaces. In an inclusive classroom, all voices, no matter the background, have an equal opportunity to thrive, add, and craft to the science community dialogue including engineering education.