Minoritized parents have historically been sidelined in parent-school engagement opportunities. Research-practice-partnerships (RPP) have been one way to bring together stakeholders across communities in collective sense-making. We explore the design and enactment of a new activity system where minoritized parents, their middle school children, science teachers, and researchers engaged in the FamJam RPP, co-design and enact engineering curriculum that centers community and seeds rightful familial presence in middle school STEM. Guided by frameworks of rightful presence, RPPs for learning at the boundaries, and cultural historical activity theory, the findings highlight new possibilities for family engagement through considering the underlying logics of equity. These include spatial and temporal equity, solidarity for equitable collaboration, collective responsibility for justice oriented STEM, and fostering STEM for thriving and democratic citizenry.

In this presentation we share two case studies: one focusing on students and examining how transnational youth make sense of climate change across personal, local, and global contexts, and another focusing on teachers, investigating how minoritized educators developed critical transformative agency by collaborating with families to co‑design and implement climate justice education.

This conversation is presented by the Eileen Lappin Weiser Center for the Learning Sciences. Light snacks and beverages will be provided. Attendees are invited to bring their lunch.

Speakers:
Angela Calabrese Barton - Chair of Educational Studies and Professor of Education, Marsal Family School of Education
Wisam Sedawi - Research Investigator, Educational Studies, Marsal Family School of Education
Batoul Y. Abdallah - Lecturer III, Educator Preparation Program, Marsal Family School of Education