Holding the village accountable: a comparative case study of two economically divergent communities to investigate the extent social capital impacts student achievement in STEM, 2016

Hunte, Stephanie V.

2010-2019

This dissertation explores the extent social capital and social networking impact student achievement in STEM within communities of divergent affluence and influence. The lack of parity of academic amenities within communities, including academic tutoring, math and science classes, and workshops tend to impede student achievement within the schoolhouse. Therefore, activities occurring within households result in each communitys ability to serve as either a bridge or a barrier to student academic success. The author argues that through community mobilization to drive further access to community-based academic resources, students can be connected to opportunities to nourish their STEM competencies, which will lead to increased success in the core STEM courses of mathematics and science. Communities with higher socioeconomic standings have an embedded innate framework of networking through associations and affiliations. Due to these memberships in a cross-section of activities, including neighborhood associations, parent groups, and civic organizations, there is a natural ebb and flow of communication and action that encourages opportunities to emerge for the benefit of its community's children. The author investigated the relationship between student STEM achievement in school and the ability of families to access academic opportunities outside of the school environment. Data collected included an array of primary and secondary sources, student state test scores, and program marketing documents of STEM education providers. To further explore the relationship between variables, surveys completed by community stakeholders and parents were distributed and analyzed. The quality of instruction occurring within community-based STEM opportunities was measured through analyses of survey instruments and documents, curriculum standards, and approaches to learning. KEY TERMS: Access to Academic Amenities, Quality of Instruction within Academic Amenities, Parent Involvement, Community Cohesiveness, Student Achievement, Out-of-School-Time, STEM, Educational Leadership

text

application/pdf

2016-05-16

dissertation

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Clark Atlanta University

Educational Leadership

Gregory, Shelia
Turner, Trevor
Groves, Darrell

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2016_hunte_stephanie