STEMMing the tide: addressing educational inequities and environmental justice through STEM education in Africatown, Alabama

This study evaluated early outcomes of STEMMing the Tide, a place-based STEM education initiative at Mobile County Training School (MCTS) in Africatown, Alabama, a historically Black, under-resourced community impacted by environmental injustice. The program integrated environmental justice themes into culturally responsive science and social studies middle school curricula aligned with state standards. Eight teachers from Mobile County Training School participated in the first two years of the project, reaching a total of 187 students across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Analysis of schoolwide science proficiency scores showed no statistically significant improvements during the study period. Historically, science proficiency scores at MCTS have consistently remained well below both county and state averages, underscoring ongoing academic inequities that persist despite the implementation of the program. Pre- and post-surveys using Likert-scale items assessed changes in participating students’ science identity and civic engagement. Although no significant differences were found between pre- and post-survey means, encouraging trends were noted. Agreement with the statement “I understand how studying science can help people fix problems” rose from 69 to 78%, and awareness of climate change increased from 62 to 86%. Modest gains were also observed in students’ recognition of community issues and collaboration skills. These findings suggest that while academic gains in science proficiency were limited, the program positively influenced students’ environmental awareness and civic perspectives.