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Women from racially/ethnically minoritized communities remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of education in STEM. The pervasive white and heteronormative culture of the STEM environment has contributed to Women of Color feeling isolated, hyper-visible, and invisible as they contend with racism, sexism, and gendered racial microaggressions. Scholars have found that counterspaces are key sites to support the persistence of Women of Color in STEM and ameliorate the negative psychological effects of navigating oppressive STEM milieus. Missing from the current literature is research on how counterspaces contribute to Women of Color's STEM persistence. This study sought to fill this gap in the literature by understanding the experiences of undergraduate Women of Color in the I CAN PERSIST STEM initiative, a multigenerational counterspace designed to support the holistic persistence of Women of Color in STEM. Steeped in the theoretical conceptualization of counterspaces, and using a case study methodological approach, we found that the multigenerational counter-storytelling and support from Women of Color in STEM, as well as the embodiment of holistic wellness, and justice-focused mentor-teaching supported STEM persistence intentions among undergraduate Women of Color in the sample. Furthermore, participants described being able to reconcile their STEM identities with their need to be active in addressing and mitigating the inequities in their communities, while also prioritizing their well-being and rejecting the STEM culture of overwork and burnout.

Given the ongoing socio-ecological crises, higher education institutions need curricular interventions to support students in developing the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to create a sustainable future. Campus farms are increasingly becoming sites for sustainability and environmental education toward this end. This paper describes the design and outcomes of a farm-situated place-based experiential learning (PBEL) intervention in two undergraduate biology courses and one environmental studies course over two academic years. We conducted a mixed-method study using pre/post-surveys and focus groups to examine the relationship between the PBEL intervention and students' sense of place and expressions of pro-environmentalism. The quantitative analysis indicated measurable shifts in students' place attachment and place-meaning scores. The qualitative findings illustrate a complex relationship between students' academic/career interests, backgrounds, and pro-environmentalism. We integrated these findings to generate a model of sustainability learning through PBEL and argue for deepening learning to encourage active participation in socio-ecological change.

In this editorial, we introduce the special issue entitled, ‘Language and psychosocial oppression: Methodological approaches, challenges, and opportunities’. This special issue includes seven articles that were produced in relation to the growing attention being given to the psychological phenomena associated with (in)justice and (in)equity, with a particular focus on how justice-oriented agendas and interventions might be advanced. Specifically, the included articles point to ways in which more micro-oriented approaches to studying languaging practices might serve to analytically and theoretically foreground justice-oriented research aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue: Resident teachers play an essential role in medical education and can support broader efforts to advance anti-racism and health equity in medicine. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires programs to provide education about health care disparities so residents can contribute to and lead work in this area. However, the literature includes few examples, frameworks, or strategies for preparing residents to develop the knowledge and skills needed to promote health equity, including in their role as clinical teachers. Evidence: In this article, the authors propose leveraging Resident-as-Teacher training to support residents in learning and teaching for health equity. Gorski's conceptualization of equity literacy provides an evidence-based framework for four main abilities (recognizing, responding, redressing, and cultivating/sustaining) residents and medical students can develop through co-learning about health equity in the clinical learning environment. The authors discuss preconditions, example activities, and assessments strategies for effective health equity education. Based on the principles of social learning theory, the authors recommend that Resident-as-Teacher training be part of an institutional strategy to cultivate a community of practice for health equity education. Implications: Incorporating health equity education into Resident-as-Teacher curriculum offers a potentially transformative part of the broader strategy needed to prepare the next generation of physicians to enact anti-racism and advance health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the role that place attachment and place meaning towards an urban farm play in predicting undergraduate students' civic-mindedness, an important factor in sustainability and social change. In 2017 and 2018, three STEM courses at a private university in the Midwest incorporated a local urban farm as a physical and conceptual context for teaching course content and sustainability concepts. Each course included a four to six-week long place-based experiential learning (PBEL) module aimed at enhancing undergraduate STEM student learning outcomes, particularly place attachment, situated sustainability meaning-making (SSMM), and civic-mindedness. End-of-course place attachment, SSMM, and civic-mindedness survey data were collected from students involved in these courses and combined with institutionally provided demographic information. Place attachment and SSMM surveys, along with the course in which the students participated, were statistically significant predictors of students' civic-mindedness score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the college experience. Concurrently, social justice movements highlighting systemic racism and police brutality were taking place.We explored the extent to which undergraduate students from a private university felt both positive and negative emotions due to the dual pandemic. Methods:Undergraduate students reported the extent to which they felt 19 emotions due to COVID-19 in August 2020 (n = 944) and January 2021 (n = 321). In August 2020, participants also indicated the extent to which they felt the same emotions due to the civil unrest occurring in response to systemic racism and police brutality. Results: Participants felt a wide range of emotions in response to the dual pandemic. Students felt more positively about the civil unrest compared to COVID-19 in August 2020. Despite vaccine availability, negative emotions regarding COVID-19 rose in January 2021. Conclusions: The implications of the ongoing effects of the dual pandemic are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Patient- and family-centered communication is essential to health care equity. However, less is known about how urologists implement evidence-based communication and dynamics involved in caring for diverse pediatric patients and caregivers. We sought to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability using video-based research to characterize physician-family communication in pediatric urology., Materials and Methods: We assembled a multidisciplinary team to conduct a multiphase learning health systems project and establish the Urology HEIRS (Health Experiences and Interactions in Real-Time Studies) corpus for research and interventions. This paper reports the first phase, evaluating feasibility and acceptability based on consent rate, patient diversity, and qualitative identification of verbal and paraverbal features of physician-family communication. We used applied conversation analysis methodology to identify salient practices across 8 pediatric urologists., Results: We recruited 111 families at 2 clinic sites; of these 82 families (N = 85 patients, ages 0-20 years) participated in the study with a consent rate of 73.9%. The racial/ethnic composition of the sample was 45.9% non-Hispanic White, 30.6% any race of Hispanic origin, 16.5% non-Hispanic Black/African American, 4.7% any ethnicity of Asian/Asian American, and 2.3% some other race/ethnicity; 24.7% of families used interpreters. We identified 11 verbal and paraverbal communication practices that impacted physician-family dynamics, including unique challenges with technology-mediated interpreters., Conclusions: Video-based research is feasible and acceptable with diverse families in pediatric urology settings. The Urology HEIRS corpus will enable future systematic studies of physician-family communication in pediatric urology and provides an empirical basis for specialty-specific training in patient- and family-centered communication.