Eileen Parsons, Ph.D. 
Professor of Science Education | UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC, UNITED STATES
Associate Professor of Science Education
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Biography
Eileen Parsons studies the influences of socio-cultural factors, specifically race and culture, on learning in science and participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Her research uses primarily, but not exclusively, qualitative methods to investigate the cultural and racial responsiveness of practices with respect to African American students in K-12 learning environments with a focus on middle school and cultural and racial inclusiveness for traditionally underrepresented students of color in undergraduate STEM. Learning and participation of students of color also foreground her scholarship. Her scholarship centers and extends critical and socio-cultural theories that weigh the historical and contemporary positioning of people of color. Her research and scholarship are inspired by the belief that diverse perspectives and voices result in the most innovative, equitable, and productive approaches to a society’s challenges.
Parsons’ future research and scholarship interests include a K-postsecondary cross-disciplinary synthesis of STEM literature on students of color; mixed-methods longitudinal examinations of youths’ and their adult significant others’ (e.g., parents) science learning and participation in culturally responsive informal learning environments; and STEM education policy.
Industry Expertise (6)
Education/Learning
International Affairs
Research
Philanthropy
Program Development
Public Policy
Areas of Expertise (4)
Broadening participation in STEM
STEM Education policy
African American education
Racial equity
Accomplishments (2)
Contribution of Research to Practice Award (professional)
2005-01-01
2005, Association for Science Teacher Education "Contribution of Research to Practice" Award
Science Policy Fellow (professional)
2011-01-01
2011, American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy Fellow
Education (3)
Cornell University: Ph.D., Science Education 1994
Cornell University: M.S., Science Education 1991
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: B.S., Science Teaching (chemistry) 1989
Affiliations (3)
- National Association for Research in Science Teaching
- American Educational Research Association
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Links (1)
Media Appearances (1)
Eileen Parsons to receive award on September 20
BVI News
2010-09-09
Former educator, legislator and cultural icon Eileene Parsons will on Friday (September 20) receive her award following an appearance on The Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June of this year. The List recognises persons for outstanding achievement and service across the UK and its overseas territories which include the BVI. As was earlier announced, Parsons will be honoured for her services to education and to the community in the British Virgin Islands.
Event Appearances (5)
Mindset, agency, and African American high school students
Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association Washington, DC.
2016-04-01
A critical race theory critique of Next Generation of Science Standards: Manifestations of “racism as ordinary” and “interest convergence.”
Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association Chicago, IL.
2015-04-01
Critical race theory and the Next Generation of Science Standards: Implementation to address “Racism as ordinary” and “counter storytelling.”
National Association of Research in Science Teaching International Meeting Chicago, IL.
2015-04-01
Awaken the dialogue: Race and the experiences of Black faculty in the science education community
National Association of Research in Science Teaching International Meeting Pittsburgh, PA.
2014-01-01
What are the perceptions of scientists held by Black college students majoring and not majoring in scientific fields?
National Association of Research in Science Teaching International Meeting, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
2013-04-01
Articles (5)
Unpacking and critically synthesizing the literature on race and ethnicity in science education
The Handbook on Research in Science Education2014 This quote is taken from Ralph Ellison's classic novel entitled "The Invisible Man", first published in its entirety in 1952. The main character and narrator in The Invisible Man is an unnamed African American whose story speaks to the experiences of those who were Black and American in the United States during the time period the book was written...
An Examination of Black Science Teacher Educators’ Experiences with Multicultural Education, Equity, and Social Justice
Journal of Science Teacher Education2013 Diversity, multicultural education, equity, and social justice are dominant themes in cultural studies (Hall in Cultural dialogues in cultural studies. Routledge, New York, pp 261–274, 1996; Wallace 1994). Zeichner (Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, pp 737–759, 2005) called for research studies of teacher educators because little research exists on teacher educators since the late 1980s. Thomson et al.(2001) identified essential ...
Exploring the Alignment of Black Scientists with the American Scientific Community: Does Race Still Matter?
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering2013 This study examined Black scientists' characterizations of the relationship between their race and their alignment with the science community. Using exploratory factor analysis, we examined 110 scientists' experiences in accessing science. Over half of the participants (54%) indicated high alignment with the scientific community. By contrast, 46% of Black scientists perceived themselves as having low alignment with the scientific community. Using these grouping for subsequent quantitative and qualitative analyses, ...
Culture and science education in the 21st century: Extending and making the cultural box more inclusive
Journal of Research in Science Teaching2013 We are pleased to introduce the Special Issue, Culture and Science Education in the 21st Century. In the past 20 years, the concept of culture has become more prominent and relevant in science education. The culture of science, culture of school science, culture of science classrooms, and cultures of individual actors in the science educative process are among the many ways in which culture has been cast and examined in the science education literature. Many studies described culture and examined its role in the ...
Conceptualizations of context in science education research: Implications for equity
Moving the equity agenda forward: Equity research, practice, and policy in science education2012 Context is commonly equated to the setting in which events take place. Researchers often capture this place in their descriptions of participants, physical surroundings, and artifacts relevant to the phenomenon under investigation. In this chapter, context is treated as part of the researched phenomena. The first treatment of context considers factors internal and external to the individual. This conceptualization of context is illustrated via research on middle school science teachers' views about students in ...
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