The Importance of Engaging Parents & Guardians 

Many of the suggestions above lean heavily on parental or guardian buy in. As educators we know the importance of family in the day to day experiences of youth. The support of parents and guardians is imperative to science education as they hold the key to a significant portion of how youth spend their time outside of the classroom. Within many Black communities, family is a large part of how Black youth come to a realization of who they are and how they fit in the world. 

Through ethnic socialization,  Black youth learn about the experiences of race and culture  from parents and guardians (Eight Good Practices for Organizations Serving Black Youth & Their Families, 2018).  This is a time when children receive cues about the traditions and behaviours of the community they live in (Eight Good Practices for Organizations Serving Black Youth & Their Families,2018).  This kind of socialization can happen in many ways such as family celebrations, sharing of stories and the sharing of the arts. 

During these occasions, Black youth develop a deep sense of what they deem important and learn of the possible pathways available to them. It is during these crucial times that instructors  can empower parents to bring STEM education to the forefront of their conversations. By facilitating conversations that highlight the ways science and technology have been traditionally practiced in their culture, parents create pivotal social moments that enable the environment for developing strong STEM identity.  

Building Trust 

It is difficult to engage parents without building trust through actions. A large part of getting parents involved is them knowing that their children are safe and learning when in your care. However, research shows that Black parents are at a disadvantage when navigating educational systems and often experience anti-racist sentiments. (Seven Promising Practices for Developing Supports for Black Parents/Caregivers,2022).  For example, the Munk School of Business report on Black youth’s participation in STEM found that  Black boys from lower socio-economic backgrounds  are more likely to avoid STEM as they received signals that they are less intelligent or more deviant than their peers (  Perry, L, B  et al.,2012)

Due to lived experiences such as the over-policing of kids in their communities, there may be distrust between the guardians of Black youth and those who run programs catered to engaging underrepresented populations. As instructors, you may never have direct contact with parents and guardians, but there are other ways to build trust. Below you will find recommendations that will enable you as instructors to build strong relationships through  external communications and positive interactions with the youth. 

• Actua’s Community Mapping Activity: This is a wonderful tool that helps instructors learn about their participants' homes and interests. It is a tool that can be used to spark interest in students about their role within their community. Instructors can involve parents by introducing thought questions that enable youth to bring these discussions home. 

• End of Day Reports: These reports are an opportunity to let parents know about what their kids are doing during the program. By informing family members of the events of the day, instructors are able to open dialogue at home without having to directly communicate with parents. Instructors can give details on the topics covered and promote further exploration at home. For example, if heat transfer in chemistry was a subject in class, parents could be encouraged to talk about how heat is incorporated into cooking.  
• Provide Access to Resources: Making sure parents have access to the resources and opportunities available to their kids goes a long way in assuring them that you are invested in their kids' learning experience. This could be as simple as informing parents of upcoming clubs in a newsletter or providing links to scholarship opportunities. (Seven Promising Practices for Developing Supports for Black Parents/Caregivers,2022)

• Take a Strength Based Approach with Participants:  Priority youth are often categorized within the scope of deficit learner and it impacts how they learn in traditional systems. Instructors can derail these harmful narratives by recognizing the literacy strengths of Black youth that may not always be recognized by traditional education rubrics. For example, students may struggle in reading, but are capable of having intricate dialogue about their communities and asking critical questions. Understanding a student's assets and highlighting them in class will allow them to go home feeling accomplished. Parents will be able to sense shared dedication to the students' success by having you recognize their strengths. (Eight Best Practices for Extracurricular Literacy Programming for Black, Racialized, and Low-Income Youth, 2021)