Using the Lens of Social Capital to Understand Diversity in the Earth System Sciences Workforce

Callahan, Caitlin N.; Libarkin, Julie C.; McCallum, Carmen M.; Atchison, Christopher L.

doi:10.5408/15-083.1

Cited by 37 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Very few of these efforts consider individuals with disabilities (NRC, 2013), although people with disabilities are found within every population regardless of sex, race, or ethnicity. Recent efforts have been made to expand awareness for including more students with disabilities in geoscience programs (Atchison and Martinez-Frias, 2012;Atchison and Gilley, 2015;Gilley et al, 2015), including a growing discussion about the accessibility of geoscience training programs, mentorship, and employment opportunities (Atchison and Libarkin, 2013;Callahan et al, 2015).…”

Section: Disability and Geosciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Professionally held perceptions about the accessibility of the geosciences

Atchison

Libarkin

2016

Geosphere

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The geosciences are considered by many to be inaccessible to individuals with disabilities. Challenging traditional perceptions of identity in the geoscience community is an important step to removing barriers for students and geoscientists with diverse physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities, and to broadening entry into the myriad fields that make up the discipline. Geoscientists' views of the extent to which a disability would inhibit access to a geoscience career were probed through three separate studies. Results indicate that although opportunities for people with disabilities are perceived to exist in the geosciences, the discipline is considered more accessible to people with some disabilities than others. Most notably, people with hearing impairments are viewed as the most capable of engaging in geoscience careers, visual and cognitive impairments are considered barriers to engagement in geoscience careers or tasks, and people with physical disabilities are perceived as capable of engaging in all but outdoor tasks. We suggest that these individual perceptions result in multiple barriers for people with disabilities: perceptual barriers, training barriers, and community-level barriers. Reducing these barriers will require action across multiple levels to change individual perceptions, training pathways, and social norms for professional engagement.

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Section: Disability and Geosciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Professionally held perceptions about the accessibility of the geosciences

Atchison

Libarkin

2016

Geosphere

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“…In their relationships, faculty became important parts of the students' social capital (Bourdieu, 1979(Bourdieu, /1984 and some participants noted that these faculty contacts did help them to achieve their academic or career goals. Prior research has maintained the importance of social capital for Students of Color in STEM careers (Callahan, Libarkin, McCallum, & Atchison, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students Perspectives on Holistic Mentoring Practices in STEM Fields

Luedke¹,

McCoy²,

Winkle-Wagner³

et al. 2019

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This critical multi-site case study examined the holistic mentoring practices provided by faculty to Students of Color in STEM fields at a predominantly White institution and a historically Black institution. We employed Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory to examine the ways in which social capital developed through faculty-student mentoring relationships led to the accumulation of cultural capital valued in STEM fields and higher education more broadly.

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“…If we wish to recognize and support under-represented students' identities in the geosciences, we need to have a richer understanding of their lived experiences as members of the community. Callahan et al (2015Callahan et al ( , 2017 argue for the importance of and suggest multiple theoretical frameworks from the social sciences that may be useful in this effort; for instance, Baber et al (2010) used the theory of self-efficacy to investigate the success of summer research programs for recruiting minority students to the geosciences. Theoretically-driven research can build our understanding of whether and how students from underrepresented groups develop their geoscience identity alongside existing identities.…”

Section: Recommended Research Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%