Black Male STEM Identities as Motivators to Engage in a High School Academy of Engineering

This article examines the reasons for Black male students’ participation in a high school academy of engineering. The authors were particularly interested in how the academy promoted (or inhibited) positive STEM identities among the Black male students. Using a case study approach, the authors interviewed seventeen Black male students about their motivations to participate in a high school academy of engineering. This study found that the high school STEM-themed career academy had a positive impact on Black male students as it relates to developing a positive STEM identity. Thus, the programmatic components of the academy served as protective factors for Black males who are marginalized in society and underrepresented in STEM spaces. To that end, the hands-on nature of the engineering curriculum, the abilities of the academy teachers to utilize Black male STEM professionals to interact and network with Black male students, and the building of pre-engineering curricula in middle school were components deemed essential in developing STEM identity with Black high school students.