This post is a part of a series about Framing Equity. Click here to go the series' main page.

"Equity can generally be described as providing people what they need to achieve desired outcomes while recognizing that both the outcomes and necessary supports will vary. Each person brings a unique set of strengths to the table."

Equity ain’t new, y’all! Equity can generally be described as providing people what they need to achieve desired outcomes while recognizing that both the outcomes and necessary supports will vary. Each person brings a unique set of strengths to the table. Equity implies that one’s circumstance or identities should not be used to predict those outcomes (e.g., race, gender, ability, etc.). Educational equity expands on this, describing that equity is a “commitment to giving every [learner] what they need to participate fully in the opportunities that education can make possible. The focus of equity work must be to remove the barriers that limit success for all [learners].”

As members of the ISE ecosystem, the REVISE Center applies this logic in multiple ways. This includes resource accessibility, research-practice partnerships, and expanding access to research funding. All of this includes questioning and disrupting systemic barriers in spaces that limit participation of all members of ISE cultural institutions, organizations, and their audiences. The Center begins its equity framework with the work of those devoted to social justice in STEM education educational spaces. 

The process and product of working in community and solidarity with others helps the field to understand, reimagine and enact what it means to construct a STEM identity aligned with one’s knowledge, cultural values, and goals. It helps to redefine and foster STEM competencies that are responsive to different cultures and abilities and address the needs of diverse communities; to forge new STEM career paths; and to generate and provide evidence-based information to allow everyone to make informed decisions leading to successful outcomes for themselves and their communities.