Affirming and Nurturing Students’ Cultural Wealth to Enhance Self-efficacy: Examination of Urban High School Students’ Lived Experiences in a STEM-Medicine Pipeline Program

Abstract

Embracing students’ cultural assets is critical in facilitating self-growth and development at the secondary level, especially among minoritized students interested in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine/health (STEM-M) careers. Using sociocultural and community cultural wealth (CCW) lenses, longitudinal data among 23 students or 53 semi-structured interviews were analyzed to understand how their participation in an extramural academic program stimulated their self-efficacy. Findings revealed how the program nurtured students’ cultural wealth while promoting their learning, engagement, persistence, and empowerment. Strengthening self-efficacy through the affirmation of cultural assets and through asset-based frameworks can enhance students’ academic and career goals.