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"It's the best kept secret... and it shouldn't be": supporting a young women's out-of-school STEM program through reciprocal, community-driven partnerships
Dissertation

"It's the best kept secret... and it shouldn't be": supporting a young women's out-of-school STEM program through reciprocal, community-driven partnerships

George Schafer
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011567
pdf
Schafer_George_20261.27 MB
PDF Embargoed Access, Embargo ends: 30 Sep 2027

Abstract

Out-of-school STEM education Participatory design research Reciprocity University-community partnerships STEM Education
University-community partnerships (UCPs) are a common form of engagement for informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Many UCP scholars have advocated for thinking more critically about concepts of community and reciprocity in such relationships; however, few have brought these lenses specifically into informal STEM education UCPs. This study focused on a university-sponsored and museum-affiliated out-of-school STEM education program which supports young girls and women who are predominantly girls and women of color from low-income and/or single parent households. A participatory design research (PDR) methodology was used to bring together five people--referred to as partners--involved with the program to collectively discuss, analyze, (re)imagine, and actively shape partnership practices along with the primary researcher. Specifically, community design circles (CDCs) were implemented for partners to explore challenges, tensions, and affordances of partnership dynamics with the program. A variety of qualitative data were collected and analyzed including video, audio, meeting notes, and memos. A novel conceptual framework of Community-based, Reciprocal, Out-of-School Partnerships in STEM (CROPS) was formulated and utilized in this study to better understand partnership dynamics at the intersections of these areas. Additionally, the theoretical framework of politicized trust was used, providing insights into the ways that powered relationships and political contexts shaped partnership. Two strands of findings emerged from this collective work. The first describes the diverse ways that CDCs cultivated agency and hope for partners in the study, such as how CDCs created space to respond to changes in institutional climates as well as providing opportunities for collective dreaming about the future of the program. The second strand of findings centers on three themes co-developed by project partners (awareness, recognition, and support) and how these elements impacted the success of the program through partnerships. The CROPS framework highlighted diverse conceptualizations of community and reciprocity throughout these findings and the relevance this has for such partnership work. Additionally, this study makes important methodological contributions by demonstrating how PDR and CDCs can cultivate agency, reciprocity, hope, and change in such settings. The findings highlight the diverse ways that partners conceptualize and enact dimensions of community and reciprocity, and how community-driven collection action can make partnership practices more equitable, responsive, and sustainable with and for communities.

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