A Holistic Model for Black Student Success in STEM: The Case for a Comprehensive and Holistic Approach in Building the Pipeline

The failure of the U.S. education system to create access to educational opportunities in STEM for Black Americans is a social justice issue reflecting a long history of exclusion and barriers to the success of Blacks. While the demographics of the U.S. population are in transition, the National Science Foundation’s report on STEM Education Data and Trends (2019) suggests that representation of Blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. STEM Workforce has fallen significantly behind their representation in the population. This underrepresentation of Blacks in the education pipeline and STEM workforce has a significant impact on basic research science, education, and training in STEM. The National Science Foundation’s NCSES data (NSF, 2016–2017) found that in 2016 only 8.27% of SE Gasman & Arroyo, 2014).