People Like Me: Providing relatable and realistic role models for underrepresented minorities in STEM to increase their motivation and likelihood of success

Abstract

Despite efforts to increase participation of racial and ethnic minorities (excluding Asians) in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the United States, this group remains underrepresented in these fields. Many efforts to increase minority participation focus on support structures to help this group "get through" the pipeline. However, less attention has been paid to increasing their intrinsic motivation to pursue careers in STEM. Our work is focused on increasing this intrinsic motivation, looking at role models as external influences. Underrepresented minorities are faced with a limited role model pool and in many cases with role models (who we call outliers) whose paths to success and extraordinary achievements are difficult to emulate for the large majority of students. In this study of a representative sample of underrepresented minority students at a predominantly white small private liberal arts university, we show that students are accepting of non-outlier role models who are relatable and embody the qualities typically associated with the existing role models that they value. The evidence suggests that a larger more diverse pool of role models, that represent more feasible paths to success, can be created for this group. We envision a "People Like Me" website based on such a pool as a tool for increasing motivation and persistence of underrepresented minorities in their pursuit of STEM professions.

Textual comparison of role model and mentor profiles developed to increase participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM

“…We then surveyed potential role models (university alumni who themselves are URMs in STEM, based on evidence that race-and gender-matched role models may be more effective [6][7][8][9]) and created role model profiles that inherently highlighted the aforementioned qualities. Ultimately, we found that students viewed the individuals presented in these profiles as apt to serve as role models, confirming the effectiveness of our methodology [10].…”

“…Survey response data were input into the tool in a spreadsheet format with the headings and extraneous text deleted. The survey response data have been described in detail in previous publications [5,10,13] and will only be briefly summarized here for clarity. The role model case data includes 10 survey responses (10706 words total) from STEM alumni at a small, private liberal arts university, and the mentor case data includes 29 survey responses (26848 words total) from peer leaders in introductory STEM courses at a large, private research university.…”

Tackling Gender Stereotypes in STEM Educational Resources

“…al suggested [53], attempts to eliminate gender stereotypes from textbooks it is a good place to start to address the STEM aspiration gap of underrepresented groups like females. Existing literature [54]- [56] also agrees that exposing young females over time to people like them in instructional materials will increase their interest in STEM. An approach to tackle this issue in primary and secondary education is to work with stakeholdersparents, teachers, school leaders, publishers of educational materials and the government.…”

Equity-Oriented Conceptual Framework for K-12 STEM literacy

“…Unfortunately, minoritized students have been marginalized in STEM and within the STEM fields. In 2015, minoritized individuals comprised approximately 38% of the population in the USA (Anderson, 2015), but only made up about 12.7% of the total STEM workforce (Aish et al, 2018). Thus, it is imperative to disrupt the systems of oppression that are evident in our society to provide each and every student, including minoritized individuals, access to high-quality STEM experiences to develop STEM literacy, which is a critical asset needed by all in today's world.…”