Abstract
BackgroundRepeated calls to diversify the population of students earning undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have noted the greater diversity of community college students and their potential to thus have an impact on the racial/ethnic composition of 4-year degree earners. In this paper, we investigate barriers and supports to Black women’s success in STEM, using longitudinal interview data with seven Black women who were enrolled at community colleges and stated an interest in majoring in STEM at 4-year institutions.ResultsOur findings highlight a contrast between community colleges and universities. At community colleges, Black women were able to form supportive relationships with professors and peers, downplayed the potential of racism and sexism to derail their STEM ambitions, and saw little to no impact of bias on their educational experiences. Those students who transferred characterized university climates very differently, as they struggled to form supportive relationships and experienced racism and sexism from professors and peers.ConclusionsWe conclude using Patricia Hill Collins’ Domains of Power framework to categorize students’ experiences, then end with recommendations for change that will result in less alienating experiences for Black women, among other minoritized students.
Highlights
Current research on the status of STEM education in the United States indicates reason to be concerned with access, inclusivity and persistence, especially when it comes to the success of minoritized groups
Studies that examine the experiences of Black women who have transferred from community colleges (e.g., Jackson, 2013; Reyes, 2011) typically do so only after the students have transferred to 4-year institutions, missing the important community college experiences that shape trajectories
We look at two axes of identity—race and gender—and their intersections for Black women who started their pursuit of a STEM degree at a community college
Summary
Current research on the status of STEM education in the United States indicates reason to be concerned with access, inclusivity and persistence, especially when it comes to the success of minoritized groups. A number of studies have identified experiences that increase persistence and success for women of color in STEM (Carlone & Johnson, 2007; Espinosa, 2011; Ireland et al, 2018; Jackson et al, 2013; Ko et al, 2014; Ong et al, 2018). Developing a solid identity as a scientist has been effective for women of color (Carlone & Johnson, 2007), with findings echoed in Ireland et al.’s (2018) synthesis of sixty studies on Black women and girls in STEM. Navigating these strategies takes time and energy, which increases the demands on women of color to succeed
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