There has been a deliberate attempt to close the achievement gap by altering educational policies, yet the gap still exists. This phenomenology qualitative study sought teachers' opinions on whether STEM was seen as an effective intervention strategy for closing the achievement gap among African American students, and if so, why it wasn't used more frequently and, if not, what barriers were present. The research questions that guided this study were: What do educators perceive a STEM education can do to address the achievement gap for African American students? In what ways do educators in a kindergarten-8th grade classroom environment include STEM teaching techniques into their lessons? and What professional development supports are necessary to give instructors the confidence they need to include STEM into their curriculum design? The findings of this study, suggests that there is a strong connection between project-based learning, STEM techniques, and student involvement and success. Through an examination of teachers' implementation experiences in addressing the achievement gap of African American pupils, this study provides insight into why STEM adoption is not more widespread. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]