Undergraduate facilitators of informal STEM education programs use and develop community cultural wealth in their roles

Abstract Background Informal STEM education (ISE) programs provide mentorship and opportunities to explore STEM concepts and practices outside of traditional classroom settings and have shown promise in broadening participation, particularly among youth with systemically excluded identities in STEM. Many ISE programs engage undergraduate students as facilitators and near-peer mentors for the youth participants. Our study uses the Community Cultural Wealth framework to identify the ways in which undergraduate Students of Color who serve as facilitators apply cultural capital in their roles in an afterschool ISE program with youth who share salient identities and lived experiences. Results Twelve interviews were analyzed with the Community Cultural Wealth framework to investigate how ISE facilitators use and share cultural capital with youth participants within their near-peer mentor roles. All six forms of capital were evident in the interviewees’ responses, as undergraduate facilitators drew on, and in some cases deepened, their capital to support and connect with youth in ISE settings. Familial and aspirational capital shaped facilitators’ STEM trajectories and contributed to their desire to mentor youth. Navigational and resistant capital enabled facilitators to challenge institutional barriers, share their knowledge with youth, and advocate for representation within STEM. Facilitators deepened their social capital by building relationships with fellow facilitators and program staff. Linguistic capital, specifically multilingualism, allowed facilitators to communicate with youth in a way that fostered inclusive learning environments. Conclusions These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of informal STEM programs. Practitioners should intentionally recognize and build on the cultural wealth that Students of Color, both youth and facilitators, bring to these spaces. Doing so requires creating program structures that not only support the development of undergraduate facilitators but also affirm their role as knowledgeable, influential near-peer mentors.