November 1st, 2018 | RESEARCH
The field of ecology is poised to substantially contribute to the creation of a socially and environmentally equitable urban future. To realize this contribution, the field of ecology must create strategies that ensure inclusion of underrepresented minorities so that a broad array of experiences and ideas collectively address challenges inherent to a sustainable urban future. Despite efforts to recruit and retain underrepresented racial minorities (URM) in the sciences, graduation rates have only slightly increased over the last several decades. While research mentoring programs at the undergraduate level do increase retention of URM already majoring in the sciences, influences that develop before college may inhibit URM from electing to study the sciences or pursue ecology-related careers in the first place. To increase diversity in the field of ecology, it is, therefore, critical to reach students before they make decisions about college. Compared with the country as a whole, cities larger than 400 000 tend to have K-12 public school populations that are more racially diverse. In cities, place-based learning—where students are engaged as participant learners in local community and environmental issues—has been successfully used for out-of-school urban environmental education programming to foster pro-environmental attitudes, foster science identity and teach scientific knowledge. Utilizing a near-peer, relational mentoring model, we argue that pre-college urban ecology research mentoring provides a place-based, authentic research experience that strengthens URM science identity and intent to pursue ecology-related majors.
Document
(no document provided)
Team Members
Jason Aloisio, Author, Wildlife Conservation SocietyBrian Johnson, Author, Inform Evaluation and Research
James D. Lewis, Author, Fordham University
J. Alan Clark, Author, Fordham University
Jason Munshi-South, Author, Fordham University
Su-Jen Roberts, Author, Wildlife Conservation Society
Deborah Wasserman, Author, Lifelong Learning Group
Joe E Heimlich, Author, Lifelong Learning Group
Karen Tingley, Author, Wildlife Conservation Society
Citation
Identifier Type: DOI
Identifier: 10.1093/jue/juy023
Publication: Journal of Urban Ecology
Volume: 4
Number: 1
Page(s): juy023
Funders
Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: AISL
Award Number: 1421017
Funding Amount: 577573
Funding Program: AISL
Award Number: 1421019
Funding Amount: 568271
Related URLs
Pre-college urban ecology research mentoring: promoting broader participation in the field of ecology for an urban future
Collaborative Research: Project TRUE (Teens Researching Urban Ecology)
Tags
Access and Inclusion: Ethnic | Racial | Urban
Audience: Museum | ISE Professionals | Undergraduate | Graduate Students | Youth | Teen (up to 17)
Discipline: Ecology | forestry | agriculture
Resource Type: Peer-reviewed article | Research Products
Environment Type: Aquarium and Zoo Programs | Higher Education Programs | Informal | Formal Connections | Public Programs