INTech: Designing Intersectional Learning Experiences for Black Girls

Abstract

white schools where Black girls are typically underrepresented, both as girls and as Black students—a positionality that is likely to undermine their motivation for CS. Rankin et al. [3] reveal that formal K–12 CS education can be a hostile environment rife with racism that negatively affects Black girls’ ability to persist in computing. Unsurprisingly, Black women seek to create safe spaces outside of the public education system to overcome the traditional barriers to formal CS education and to promote Black girls’ positive experiences and motivation for CS education and subsequently becoming designers of technology. Employing intersectionality as a critical lens, this article conceptualizes developing safe spaces to support Black girls becoming designers in the context of CS education.