This qualitative study explored the experiences of 10 Native Hawaiian members of Hawai‘i’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) community to understand how they navigate their cultural and professional identities. This article explores one of the major themes—being first-generation college students—and the narrators’ inspirations, influences, and challenges as first-generation college students in STEM-related degree programs. Within this context, the participants explore the impact of support networks, going beyond the educational level of their parents, as well as feelings of inferiority, tokenism, and marginalization as one of the few Native Hawaiian students in STEM degree programs. These findings are substantial in that they offer understanding related to a distinct racial/ethnic minority that is underrepresented in higher education and the sciences.
Research shows that undergraduate students’ achievement emotions are critical in determining motivation and success in higher education. This article reports on the results of a pilot study using the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire involving 10 ( n = 10) mostly ethnic minority undergraduates at an urban 4-year university. In general, findings reveal increases in feelings of hope, hopelessness, and boredom as well as decreases in enjoyment throughout students’ first-year experience. Students’ positive and negative emotions impact their perceptions of both their classes and instructors and affect their motivation, on-task behavior, and academic success. These results also compare and show significant differences in the emotions associated with the first-year experiences of immigrants, Hispanic, and first-generation students as compared with their citizen, non-Hispanic, and nonfirst-generation peers, respectively. These findings paint an intimate portrait of the narrators’ experiences and the impact that emotions had on their motivation and achievement during their first year in college.
Pre-service teachers, particularly those focusing on early childhood and elementary education, consistently view science as one of the disciplines they felt the least comfortable teaching. Connecting students, pre-service teachers, and in-service teachers with STEM experts, such as astronauts, through downlinks or other virtual visits, creates invaluable learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. In February 2017, pre-service teachers at UHD connected with Astronaut Joseph Acaba while he was on the International Space Station through an Educational Downlink. It was an opportunity for pre-service teachers to learn first-hand about living and working in space, what life is like for an astronaut, and how to translate the research happening in space into their everyday lives and classrooms. The experience of interacting with Acaba had a profound short- and long-term impacts for the pre-service teachers directly involved in the downlink and shaped how they approach teaching, science education, and NASA-related opportunities for their students.
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