Globalization and science education in a community-based after-school program

What are the effects of globalization and how are these manifested in local communities and in the learning of science there? These questions are unpacked within one local community in the United States, a place called “Uptown” where I examine the educational opportunities and pathways in science that are available for low-income Black American girls. The data comes from eight years of work both as an after-school science education program director and researcher in Uptown. The results suggest that globalization is taking hold, both in the social and economic circumstances of the community and in the everyday lives of the girls who live there. Further, there is possible evidence of globalization in the micro-dynamics of the after-school program. Yet opportunities for science education that could prepare the girls and their community for a globalizing world lag far behind.