“I wanted to follow in her footsteps”: Activating, Nurturing, and Extending Community Cultural Wealth for Students of Color Entering STEM Pathways

Abstract

Background/Context Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations account for the second-fastest growing sector in the United States. As racial and ethnic “minorities” become the college-age majority, there is a need to facilitate access and success for Students of Color in STEM fields. Purpose The present study seeks to investigate the ways in which important others shape the initial educational and career aspirations of Students of Color pursuing STEM pathways. Research Design This study draws on a mixed-methods research design using both survey and interview data to investigate similar and different facets of the college and career decision-making processes for Students of Color in STEM fields. Results Findings from this study suggest that as Students of Color narrow their decisions to attend college, select a STEM major, and pursue a STEM career, the network of people who influence these decisions widens beyond parents and family members to include K-12 teachers and other institutional agents. This network, then, activates, nurtures, and/or extends the community cultural wealth for Students of Color entering STEM pathways. Conclusion/Recommendations Our findings suggest that at every decision-making point (e.g., going to college, selecting a STEM major, and pursuing a STEM career), family members (e.g., parents, siblings, and extended family) directly or indirectly shaped the STEM pathways of Students of Color. As such, we argue that families cannot be ignored in the pursuit toward diversifying the STEM workforce.

“I know what I need to learn”: The intersection of aspirational and navigational capitals for marginalized‐identity STEM students

“…Much of the CCW‐focused research designed to highlight the assets of Black, African American, and/or students of color identifies familial capital as an important facet of student experience. Examples of synergy include supportive emotional labor from the families of Black STEM majors (Ortiz et al, 2019) and for Black and Latinx STEM doctoral students (Pumaccahua & Rogers, 2022), and mothers activating aspirational capital around students of color's decision to attend college (Rincón et al, 2020, p. 13). In deciding to pursue STEM majors, external figures including parents and other siblings were likewise influential, which researchers link to the activation of navigational capital (Rincón et al, 2020, p. 13; Sellers et al, 2022).…”

“…Examples of synergy include supportive emotional labor from the families of Black STEM majors (Ortiz et al, 2019) and for Black and Latinx STEM doctoral students (Pumaccahua & Rogers, 2022), and mothers activating aspirational capital around students of color's decision to attend college (Rincón et al, 2020, p. 13). In deciding to pursue STEM majors, external figures including parents and other siblings were likewise influential, which researchers link to the activation of navigational capital (Rincón et al, 2020, p. 13; Sellers et al, 2022). The “cultural notions of family” (Fernández et al, 2021, p. 153) extended to include student organizations, which further supported students of color in navigating college and STEM majors.…”

“…The overlap (or co‐occurrence) of CCW components was suggested in theory (Yosso, 2005) and has featured in empirical work (Denton et al, 2020; Holland, 2017; Morales‐Chicas et al, 2022; Rincón et al, 2020; Rodriguez et al, 2023; Sellers et al, 2022). Despite consistent representation, the co‐occurrence of components has remained underexplored, including the overlap of aspirational and navigational capital, which has been indicated in a systematic literature review (Denton et al, 2020).…”

“…Additionally, Latinx students in STEM has been a common combination of identity group and field of study for analysis (Monarrez et al, 2019; Morales‐Chicas et al, 2022; Peralta et al, 2013). Where a group is studied alongside STEM, engaging the CCW framework, other areas of focus include pathways through STEM (Rincón et al, 2020), graduate school (Jaumot‐Pascual et al, 2021; Pumaccahua & Rogers, 2022), engineering (Sellers et al, 2022; Tolbert Smith, 2022), and identity development (Ortiz et al, 2019). These framings—single components of CCW, all components of CCW, and a demographic identity group alongside CCW—have shaped broad understandings of CCW's role in postsecondary experiences for MI STEM students.…”

“…Although individual and collective components of CCW have been studied in multiple contexts, research has also identified components as they overlap. Yosso (2005) (in theorization) and others (in practice) have explained that components of CCW are not mutually exclusive; rather, they co‐occur (see, e.g., familial and aspirational in Denton et al, 2020; Morales‐Chicas et al, 2022; Rincón et al, 2020; Rodriguez et al, 2023; Sellers et al, 2022; social and navigational in Holland, 2017; and familial and navigational in Rodriguez et al, 2023). The logical and empirical connections between hope (i.e., aspirational capital) and action to support progress (i.e., navigational capital) have motivated the present study of these components' overlaps.…”