What About Us? Exploring the Challenges and Sources of Support Influencing Black Students’ STEM Identity Development in Postsecondary Education

Ortiz, Nickolaus A.; Morton, Terrell R.; Miles, Monica L.; Roby, ReAnna S.

doi:10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.3.0311

Cited by 64 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…early STEM experiences, elementary school teacher, female students, gender, STEM capital, STEM identity, STEM identity capital 1 | INTRODUCTION Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity has assumed increasing importance over the past decade with a continued urgency for understanding how it develops, particularly for groups who have historically been marginalized in STEM fields (Castro & Collins, 2020;Kim et al, 2018;Ortiz et al, 2020;Steinke, 2017). Even though STEM identity incorporates many nuanced aspects, it commonly includes aspects of how individuals perceive, position, and align themselves with their conceptions of STEM based on their experiences with STEM (Carlone & Johnson, 2007;Dou et al, 2019;Kim et al, 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

Examining the effect of early STEM experiences as a form of STEM capital and identity capital on STEM identity: A gender study

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Examining the effect of early STEM experiences as a form of STEM capital and identity capital on STEM identity: A gender study

et al. 2021

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“…Future research should also take into account students' social identities (gender, ethnicity, migration background, class) when considering how access to resources can impact the accumulation, use and exchange of forms of science capital valued in postsecondary contexts. For example, Ortiz et al, (2020) suggest that the forms of capital which develop from students' own communities (e.g., aspirational, linguistic and familial capital) should be leveraged in postsecondary contexts to facilitate success. They highlight the need for postsecondary institutions to recognize and value these forms of capital.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We draw on Nasir and Cooks (2009) to shape our understanding of resources as material (e.g., financial), relational (e.g., a meaningful family member, peer or teacher) and ideational (e.g., opportunities to see oneself as a science person or in a science career). Ortiz, Morton, Miles, & Roby (2020) have identified similar resources as “sources of support” that can influence students' science identities and have connected these to the accumulation of forms of capital. We draw inspiration from this and the study of Black and Hernandez‐Martinez (2016) to explore the interplay between science capital and students' science identity trajectories.…”

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confidence: 99%

“Anybody can do science if they're brave enough”: Understanding the role of science capital in science majors' identity trajectories into and through postsecondary science

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This article reports on research investigating the experiences and resources that make science thinkable for undergraduate science majors as they engage in postsecondary science contexts. We regard these experiences and resources as contributing to science majors' science capital, and we suggest that science capital accumulates over time across identity trajectories. Using a multiple case study approach, we characterize seven undergraduate science majors' identity trajectories that they narrate through their stories of experiences with science in school, out of school and into postsecondary education. We examine how they navigate sources of science capital (e.g., families, science outreach), and the value they attribute to their science capital once they enter science programs in university. We also consider how their access to science capital influences their reasons for engaging in science outreach. To characterize students' movements into postsecondary education, and their experiences in postsecondary science, we crafted three identity trajectories: the “expected trajectory,” “persistent trajectory” and the “new directions trajectory.” These trajectories helped us to examine how science majors' identities mediate their perceptions of the use and exchange values of their science capital and the doxa of science that they legitimate. This study contributes to our understanding of how science capital operates along identity trajectories into postsecondary science, and demonstrates that simply having access to resources that contribute to students' accumulation of science capital is not sufficient for sustained engagement in science.

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“…However, Black students encounter extra barriers due to bias in graduate school and spend more energy on stereotype management than White students [5]. Studies of Black academics who persist in STEM show that developing a robust STEM identity strongly predicts future involvement in science [60][61][62][63]. Increasing the number of mentors and role models for Black students may aid in identity development and thus retention.…”

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confidence: 99%

Review of Racially Equitable Admissions Practices in STEM Doctoral Programs

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This study reviews literature on racially equitable admissions practices relevant to graduate programs in STEM. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores correlate more strongly with race, gender, and socioeconomic status than performance metrics for research during or after graduate school. Structural changes to admissions processes that can improve equity of admissions decisions and reduce correlations between admissions decisions and demographic data include using holistic review or composite scores that quantize more components of an application, removing hard limits on course requirements, admitting students as a cohort instead of to individual faculty sponsors, and diversifying admissions committees. Some alternative scoring methods attempt to measure personality traits, but performing these measurements during admissions may present difficulties. Bridge programs—whether they are implemented as collaborations with a minority-serving institution, a personalized educational program for each student admitted to a program, or a stand-alone program before the doctoral degree program—may be able to improve both recruitment and retention of students with underrepresented racial and ethnic identities in their field of study. Finally, financial barriers to applications can disproportionately affect underrepresented applicants due to systemic racism. We end with recommendations for graduate programs to improve equity in admissions processes.

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What About Us? Exploring the Challenges and Sources of Support Influencing Black Students’ STEM Identity Development in Postsecondary Education

Cited by 64 publications

References 29 publications

Examining the effect of early STEM experiences as a form of STEM capital and identity capital on STEM identity: A gender study

Examining the effect of early STEM experiences as a form of STEM capital and identity capital on STEM identity: A gender study

“Anybody can do science if they're brave enough”: Understanding the role of science capital in science majors' identity trajectories into and through postsecondary science

Review of Racially Equitable Admissions Practices in STEM Doctoral Programs

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