Jomo W. Mutegi is Assistant Director for Research at the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities and former President of NARST a global organization for improving science teaching and learning through research. Dr. Mutegi’s research aims to (a) better understand and disrupt systemic racism in the STEM education of people of African descent; and (b) advance practical curriculum for STEM learners. His work appears in several respected journals including: Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, Teachers College Record, and The Science Teacher. As Principal Investigator of the Mutegi STEM Learning Lab, Dr. Mutegi has received over $3.6 million in external grant funding.

Guided by the counsel of Dr. Amos Wilson who reminds us that, “The function of education is to secure the survival of a people,” Dr. Mutegi works to conduct research and create educational materials that contribute to the survival of African people. To learn more about Dr. Mutegi and his work, visit the Mutegi STEM Learning Lab at www.ES2RP.org.

Selected Publications

Mathis, C., Mutegi, J., Carroll, T., Patel, M. & Wooley, A. (2025). Exploring physics teacher identity: Pathways toward equitable instruction among teachers. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 21(2), 020123. https://doi.org/10.1103/qmv3-jwm2

Thompson, L. R., Mutegi, J. W. & Davis, J. L. (2024). “There’s no one here that looks like me”: Nationbuilding as a response to African American underrepresentation in the sciences. Freedom: A Journal of Research in Africana Studies, 1, 149-168.

Mutegi, J. W., Smith-Mutegi, D. & Lewis, N. (2022). Fostering critical perspectives of science among preservice elementary teachers: An empirical identification of affordances and hinderances. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 33, 888-909. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2021.2015531

Mutegi, J. W. & Atwater, M. M. (2022). Theorizing racism to advance science education research for people of African descent: Concluding contemplations. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 17, 211-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-022-10110-x

Mutegi, J. W. and Gee, V. (2021). The molecules that make me unique. Science Scope 44 (3) , pp. 44-49.