ABSTRACT
Equity is at the heart of the current efforts to reform science education. Recent reform documents explicitly put forward the idea that all students regardless of culture, gender, race, and/or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. Despite this emphasis, there continue to be widespread differences in the access, retention, and achievement of students depending on their culture, gender, race, and/or socioeconomic status, To address this need, the Urban Ecology Institute in partnership with the Boston Public Schools and the Lynch School of Education at Boston College has been developing and implementing a fieldbased science program to engage traditionally underrepresented groups in the doing of real-world science. To date we have found that our program improves student interest in science, supports students in developing a better understanding of scientific methodologies, and improves students’ sense of environmental stewardship when compared to students experiencing traditional science instruction over the course of an academic year.
