Rightful presence is a critical justice framework that explores guest/host relationships, calling into question who has the right to be present within a space, how they are allowed to contribute, and who determines their role within the space (Calabrese Barton & Tan, 2019). In educational settings, Calabrese Barton and Tan have extended the concept of rightful presence into an educational framework to center political struggle, illuminate injustice, and disrupt power hierarchies within the classroom (2019; 2020). More than inclusion, rightful presence is the reauthoring of rights through practices that center students’ ways of knowing and their presence within classroom spaces. In particular, Calabrese Barton and Tan’s research in STEM classrooms has demonstrated how teachers can foster rightful presence practices within the classroom community, encompassing informal and formal practices that center political struggle, make injustices visible, and reauthor rights to redistribute power.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to: justina.jackson@ceismc.gatech.edu

Related Sources:
Designing for Rightful Presence in STEM The Role of Making Present Practices
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10508406.2019.1591411

Beyond Equity as Inclusion 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0013189X20927363

Co-Constructing “Good Trouble:” Understanding and Supporting Teacher Practices for Rightful Presence in STEAM Classrooms
https://aaas-arise.org/2023/06/12/co-constructing-good-trouble-understanding-and-supporting-teacher-practices-for-rightful-presence-in-steam-classrooms/

Designing for Social Justice in Science Teaching and Learning: Working Toward Rightful Presence
https://www.nsta.org/blog/designing-social-justice-science-teaching-and-learning-working-toward-rightful-presence

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“The arts are inherently centered on doing, so integrating the arts into other disciplines necessarily must involve projects. Students will learn so much by guiding their own progress through a creative project related to the class subject. “ GoSTEAM Teacher

Interested in learning more? Reach out to: Sgrossman8@gatech.edu

Related sources:
Introduction to Project-Based Inquiry Learning: The Main Course, Not Dessert (PDF Download)
PBL and STEAM Education: A Natural Fit (Blog)
Bringing Identity Work to Project-Based Learning | Edutopia (Website)