Culturally Sustaining Computing Education for Tibetan Diaspora Youth: Engaging Heritage Identity Through Computing
Yeshi Paljor, Chris Proctor, Sameer Honwad, Adrienne Decker, Christopher Plekss Hoadley · Proceedings. · 2025
This study integrates sociocultural dimensions into computing education to support identity preservation and engagement among Tibetan diaspora youth in Queens, New York.Conducted during a 5-week summer program in 2024, the research investigated culturally sustaining pedagogies that integrate technical learning and cultural heritage.Students engaged in collaborative, project-based learning incorporating Tibetan sociocultural and political values into computing practices.Findings highlight six key themes, including pride in accomplishments, personal agency, and cultural resilience, showing how computing education can affirm cultural identity while fostering technical skills.Such integration is valuable to meaningful computing education as well as engaging and preserving their heritage identity.The study underscores the transformative potential of culturally aligned computing education to empower marginalized communities, offering a model for designing equitable, identityaffirming STEM programs that address community-specific concerns.