La Fuerza-STEM

Challenge

Hispanic children make up 25% of the U.S. child population. However, Hispanic adults comprise only 7% of the STEM workforce. This underrepresentation speaks to the lack of opportunities for Hispanic children to see their family values reflected in science learning and to view role models of Hispanic scientists in media.

To respond to this challenge, EDC is leading the La Fuerza-STEM project. In this project, EDC and Literacy Partners are developing and studying a science-infused Spanish language telenovela and related workshops for Spanish-speaking caregivers with children ages 3–8. The five-episode telenovela will be produced and broadcast by TelevisaUnivision.

Key Activities

The project is carrying out the following activities:

Convene a Scientific Advisory Board and a Spanish-speaking Parent Advisory Board to shape the development of culturally responsive media and workshops
Inform the production of a STEM-infused social purpose telenovela built around the lived experiences of Hispanic families
Conduct a rigorous randomized controlled trial with 200 caregivers to evaluate the effectiveness of viewing the telenovela in improving caregivers’ attitudes and beliefs about science
Develop workshops to further engage Spanish-speaking caregivers in the telenovela’s science messaging
Train and support 10–15 community partners in the delivery of the workshops
Conduct a second rigorous randomized controlled trial with 300 caregivers to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops in improving caregivers’ attitudes and beliefs about science

Impact

The project team has:

Developed and broadcast a culturally relevant telenovela series with a potential reach of 7 million viewers
Published an article about family science on Univision’s website
Rolled out informal science workshops with 10–15 partner organizations across the United States
Provided free training and access to a community of practice for facilitators working with Spanish-speaking communities

The study of the project will:

Advance knowledge of the impact of culturally relevant media on the informal science attitudes and practices of Spanish-speaking families
Improve understanding of how to amplify Spanish-speaking caregivers’ self-efficacy in informal science
Provide insight into the successes and challenges of providing informal science workshops