Underrepresented Students Of Color Research Articles

Supplemental Material for How Well Do Contextualized Admissions Measures Predict Success for Low-Income Students, Women, and Underrepresented Students of Color?

Supplemental Material for How Well Do Contextualized Admissions Measures Predict Success for Low-Income Students, Women, and Underrepresented Students of Color?

How well do contextualized admissions measures predict success for low-income students, women, and underrepresented students of color?

How well do contextualized admissions measures predict success for low-income students, women, and underrepresented students of color?

Advancing Equity in Graduate Pathways: Examining the Factors that Sustain and Develop Computing Graduate Aspirations

ABSTRACT In light of the need to both grow and diversify graduate enrollments in computing fields, this quantitative study examined variables associated with students’ initial aspirations for computing graduate school as well as how aspirations were sustained or developed over time. Using a longitudinal sample of undergraduate students who enrolled in introductory computing courses at 15 research universities, findings suggest that environments and interactions that sustain undergraduate students’ initial computing graduate aspirations are quite different than those that contribute to other students’ development of graduate aspirations. Specifically, this study highlights the key role of domain-specific psychosocial beliefs (i.e., computing identity, computing self-efficacy) in shaping students’ aspirations for graduate computing. Results also highlight important equity issues, particularly related to supporting graduate aspirations among underrepresented Students of Color in computing. We offer implications for cultivating gender and racial/ethnic diversity in computing graduate school pathways, which is imperative to generating more inclusive computing environments in the tech industry and academia.

Can Holland’s Person-Environment Fit Theory Produce Troubling Outcomes for Racial/Ethnic Underrepresented Students in STEM? An Analysis of Social Agency

Increasing the success of Underrepresented Students of Color (USC) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a central concern to many researchers, policymakers, and educators. To help understand STEM college student success, many studies have utilized Holland’s (1966, 1973, 1985, 1997) person-environment fit framework applying it uncritically to all students. Using Quantitative Criticalism, this study engages the racial realities of USC while investigating several assumptions of Holland’s theory and their implications for USC pursuing STEM fields. Utilizing a national, longitudinal dataset of 5,564 STEM bachelor’s degree recipients drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s 2004 Freshman Survey and 2011 Post-Baccalaureate Survey, this study specifically examines students’ interest in making a positive impact on society through socio-political action, or social agency, which Holland’s typology suggests is incongruent with STEM environments. Findings show that USC may be more likely to be described as “incongruent” with Holland’s classification of STEM environments, that the congruence assumption may not be fully applicable for understanding the long-term success of USC in STEM, and that the social agency of USC did not significantly change over the seven years while white students’ significantly decreased. Implications for broadening participation and promoting equity in STEM fields are discussed.

Interrogating Structural Racism in STEM Higher Education

The racialized structure of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) higher education maintains gross inequities that are illustrative of structural racism, which both informs and is reinforced by discriminatory beliefs, policies, values, and distribution of resources. Thus, an examination into structural racism in STEM is needed to expose the marginalization of underrepresented groups in STEM and to improve understanding of the STEM policies, practices, and procedures that allow the foundation of racism to remain intact. I argue that, even at the top of the education hierarchy, Black STEM doctorate students and PhD degree holders consistently endure the racist residue of higher education institutions and STEM employers. Thus, this manuscript also discusses how universities institutionalize diversity mentoring programs designed mostly to fix (read “assimilate”) underrepresented students of color while ignoring or minimizing the role of the STEM departments in creating racially hostile work and educational spaces. I argue that, without a critical examination of the structural racism omnipresent in the STEM, progress in racially diversifying STEM will continue at a snail’s pace.

Broadening participation in the engineering professoriate: Influences on Allen's journey in developing professorial intentions

AbstractBackgroundGiven the significant roles that faculty play, it is important to understand how and why engineering graduate students choose faculty careers over other professional opportunities. Yet little is known about this decision‐making process, particularly for students of color.PurposeThis article offers a rich, empirically grounded account of the development of one graduate student's professorial intentions as a launch‐point from which to explore how to broaden participation in the professoriate among underrepresented students of color in engineering.MethodNarrative data were analyzed chronologically and thematically to investigate the influences that help explain Allen's professorial intentions. This study foregrounds Allen's meaning‐making pertaining to how his educational experiences and various identities shaped his evolving understandings of the professoriate and of his suitability for a faculty career.ResultsAllen's journey describes a trajectory from disinterest to interest in the professoriate through his evolving understandings of the academy and the professoriate, the development of a faculty prototype and its role in his thinking about faculty norms and roles, and finally, envisioning himself in the professoriate.ConclusionsThe underrepresentation of historically marginalized individuals among engineering faculty will remain a problem until more knowledge is gained about why students choose to pursue the engineering professoriate. Future studies that follow this line of inquiry by focusing on smaller numbers of participants may similarly identify key experiences and factors that promote interest in or turn students away from faculty careers.

Success Central: Addressing the Persistence of African-American and Latinx College Students Using a Peer Success Coaching Intervention

African-American and Latinx enrollment in higher education has increased dramatically in recent years at many predominantly White institutions. However, the graduation rates of these students are substantially lower than the general student population at many of these institutions. This study introduces “Success Central,” an innovative peer coaching initiative offered at a mid-size, comprehensive regional institution. Instead of post-graduate professionals employed as success coaches, which is the typical practice, upper-class undergraduate students were selected and trained in an innovative life coaching intervention designed to address the root causes of student attrition as established in the literature examining the academic and non-academic factors that contribute to early departure. Students met regularly with assigned peer coaches who supported them to address their challenges and accomplishment of their desired goals. The results of this program exceeded the objective of equal persistence rates between the underrepresented students of color who had received peer-coaching and their majority counterparts. Additionally, students who experienced this intervention reported an improvement in their perception of their college experiences and academic skills.

A Matter of Equity: Desegregating and Integrating Gifted and Talented Education for Under-Represented Students of Color

Access to gifted and talented education (referral, identification, and classes) and advanced classes has been challenging for two student groups of color—Black and Hispanic students. More than 10 years of data from the Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection and numerous reports reveal that discrimination is in operation and gravely compromises access for these gifted students of color. In this article, the authors share data on the aforementioned groups’ under-representation, along with desegregation and integration barriers. Our recommendations are guided by equity rather than equality. We call for accountability and deliberate efforts to desegregate and integrate gifted and talented education with excellence and equity fundamental for change. We also draw attention to the Culturally-Responsive Equity-Based Bill of Rights for Gifted Students of Color.

Do adolescents’ self-concepts moderate the relationship between STEM stereotypes and motivation?

Professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are often stereotyped as geniuses and nerds (e.g., socially awkward). These stereotypes may demotivate some individuals from pursuing or remaining in STEM. However, these beliefs may enhance motivation among individuals who feel that they fit in with the stereotype. Guided by balanced identity theory and expectancy-value theory, our study investigated the effect of trait-based stereotypes about people in STEM among a sample of 256 U.S. high school students (Mage = 16, 59% girls, 65% Asian, 15% Latinx, 10% White). We assessed students’ trait-based nerd and genius stereotypes about STEM and related self-concepts as well as their STEM motivation (competence and value beliefs). Consistent with balanced identity theory, the effect and direction of endorsing nerd-genius stereotypes was moderated by a student’s own self-concepts. Endorsing stereotypes was negatively related to motivation—but only among those low in the related self-concept. Among those high in related self-concepts (e.g., high in nerd-genius self-concept), endorsing STEM stereotypes (e.g., STEM is for geniuses) was unrelated to STEM motivation. Girls, underrepresented students of color, and potential first-generation college students may especially be negatively affected by the stereotypes due to a greater likelihood that these stereotypes will be incongruent with their self-concepts. Thus, trait-based stereotypes about people in STEM may perpetuate current gaps in STEM.

Burdens and benefits of diversity work: emotion management in STEM doctoral students

PurposeAs part of the broader effort to diversify higher education in the USA, many science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) doctoral programs are deeply engaged in diversity work – an array of formal activities and practices meant to boost the representation of women and students of color. This paper aims to examine how underrepresented doctoral students in high-diversity STEM PhD programs contribute to diversity work in their programs.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was used to understand the nature of diversity work in four STEM doctoral programs that have enrolled and graduated women and/or underrepresented students of color at rates significantly higher than their disciplines, despite being located in states with affirmative action bans. This study analyzes qualitative data from 24 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups with students from across the four departments.FindingsData reveal that underrepresented students are simultaneously positioned as representatives of progress and uncompensated consultants in their departments’ ongoing equity and diversity efforts. As a result, student contributions to diversity work are experienced as an ongoing process of emotional labor in which institutional ethos and/or feeling rules in the department shape how students manage their internal and external emotions.Originality/valueAlthough diversity-related work is widespread and growing within colleges and universities, this study shows how student engagement in diversification efforts can lead to significant emotional burdens that go unnoticed and uncompensated. In highlighting the invisibility of emotional labor and the skew of its distribution toward minoritized groups, this research calls attention to how tacit feeling rules can undermine the ultimate goal of diversity initiatives within graduate departments and programs.

Chicanas in IR: Data-Driven Advocacy for Latinx Students from Institutional Research Contexts in the Community College

Various inequities and challenges facing Latinx students in community colleges continue to be documented. Yet, less documented are the challenges associated with advocacy efforts to support Latinx and other underrepresented Students of Color within the community college sector. There is not often pause to consider: who advocates for Latinx students? When and how does this advocacy take shape? In this article, we offer Chicana testimonios as institutional research (IR) professionals to highlight ways we experience, respond to, and challenge institutionalized racism and systemic obstacles to advocate for Latinx students in the California community college system. We situate our testimonios within a critique of the pillar of neutrality associated with the institutional research profession and argue for a critical examination of the ways in which IR may play an active role in the perpetuation or the dismantling of educational inequities in California community colleges.

Preparing Students for a Diverse, Deliberative Democracy: College Diversity Experiences and Informed Citizenship after College

Background/Context The role of race in the university continues to be a contentious issue. Proponents of college diversity often cite the importance of fostering a diverse and deliberative democratic society, but the link between student experiences and postcollege citizenship has received limited attention. Purpose/Objective This study explores the extent to which two types of college diversity experiences (cross-racial interaction and curricular/co-curricular diversity engagement) predict aspects of informed citizenship associated with supporting a deliberative democracy six years after graduation (i.e., following the news, discussion of racial issues, and importance of keeping up to date with politics). Participants The dataset for this study came from UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. We utilized the 1994–1998–2004 cohort of students/alumni, which included a postcollege survey administered six years after graduation. The total sample consisted of 8,634 alumni from 229 institutions. Research Design This study utilized secondary data analysis of the 1994–1998–2004 CIRP dataset. Data Collection and Analysis Path analysis was particularly useful for this study to examine the direct and indirect effects of the college diversity experiences on senior-year and longer-term outcomes. Results College diversity experiences have direct effects on postcollege discussions of racial issues, which suggests that these forms of engagement may have long-lasting effects on college graduates. Moreover, curricular/co-curricular diversity engagement also has positive, indirect effects on keeping up to date with politics, news consumption, and discussing racial issues well after graduation. The pattern of findings differed when analyzed separately by racial/ethnic group (i.e., Whites/Caucasians, Asian Americans, and underrepresented students of color). Conclusions/Recommendations This study adds to the existing knowledge base by making a key contribution to the limited research on the long-term benefits of diversity experiences as well as the dimensions of higher education that inform active citizenship in a deliberative democracy. This study examined the complex relationships—both direct and indirect effects—associated with these college diversity experiences and outcomes after college and how these relationships vary by racial/ethnic group. The current findings point to the particular importance of maximizing opportunities for cross-racial interaction and curricular/co-curricular diversity engagement for all students regardless of their race/ethnicity.

Math achievement: a role strain and adaptation approach

PurposeThis study aims to better understand how students’ academic strains and multilevel strengths relate to their math achievement, with a particular emphasis on underrepresented students of color and girls given the need to broaden science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) participation for these groups.Design/methodology/approachNational Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 data was used for a historical examination of the various student academic strains and multilevel strengths that relate to math achievement in high school. T-tests and chi-square tests were conducted to examine differences in strains and strengths across policy-relevant student subgroups. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to examine how students’ strains and strengths related to their math achievement and the relative importance of each of these factors.FindingsThe findings suggest that both the academic strains and multilevel strengths that students’ experience in middle school are related to their high school math achievement and the prevalence of these factors varies across different policy-relevant student subgroups. Furthermore, the relative importance of these factors on achievement differs.Originality/valueStudies which focus on either students’ academic challenges or their adaptive strengths fall short of a more nuanced discussion about how both factors relate to math outcomes. This study addresses this limitation and emphasizes that stakeholders who are interested in STEM diversity should consider holistic strategies for alleviating gender and racial/ethnic discrepancies in secondary math achievement.

Racial Diversity in the Medical Profession: The Impact of Affirmative Action Bans on Underrepresented Student of Color Matriculation in Medical Schools

This study examines the impact of affirmative action bans in six states (California, Washington, Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska) on the matriculation rates of historically underrepresented students of color in public medical schools in these states. Findings show that affirmative action bans have led to about a 17% decline (from 18.5% to 15.3%) in the first-time matriculation of medical school students who are underrepresented students of color. This decline is similar to drops in the enrollment of students of color that have taken place across other educational sectors, including the nation's most selective public undergraduate institutions, law schools, and various graduate fields of study, after bans on affirmative action were enacted in some of these states. The findings suggest that statewide laws banning the consideration of race in postsecondary admissions pose serious obstacles for the medical profession to address the health care crisis facing the nation.

STEM students’ social agency and views on working for social change: Are STEM disciplines developing socially and civically responsible students?

Utilizing a national sample of over 6,100 undergraduates, drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's (CIRP) Freshman Survey and College Senior Survey, this study investigates differences between STEM and non-STEM students at the end of college on the values they place on helping to create a more equitable society. Findings show that, on average, STEM students view the importance of working for social change as less important to their career goals, yet differences between Underrepresented Students of Color and their non-underrepresented counterparts emerge. The multilevel analysis revealed that majoring in a STEM discipline has a significant negative relationship with social agency outcomes, and that there are important differences in social agency outcomes among students who aspire to work in different STEM-related careers. Given the intellectual debates over the purpose of STEM education, the findings have broad implications for STEM education scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in promoting STEM students’ social and civic outcomes at institutions of higher education. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 610–632, 2015.

Racial Diversity in the Medical Profession: The Impact of Affirmative Action Bans on Underrepresented Student of Color Matriculation in Medical Schools.

This study examines the impact of affirmative action bans in six states (California, Washington, Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska) on the matriculation rates of historically underrepresented students of color in public medical schools in these states. Findings show that affirmative action bans have led to about a 17% decline (from 18.5% to 15.3%) in the first-time matriculation of medical school students who are underrepresented students of color. This decline is similar to drops in the enrollment of students of color that have taken place across other educational sectors, including the nation's most selective public undergraduate institutions, law schools, and various graduate fields of study, after bans on affirmative action were enacted in some of these states. The findings suggest that statewide laws banning the consideration of race in postsecondary admissions pose serious obstacles for the medical profession to address the health-care crisis facing the nation.

Racial Diversity, Legitimacy, and the Citizenry: The Impactof Affirmative Action Bans on Graduate School Enrollment

This study uses data from the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees and a methodology that supports causal inference to examine the effects of affirmative action bans in Texas, California, Washington, and Florida on graduate student of color enrollment. The findings show that the bans have reduced by 12.2% the average proportion of graduate students who are underrepresented students of color. Given that graduate education is an important pathway for positions of power and influence in our nation, these findings have broad implications for higher education policies that seek to further national educational and democratic goals. They should also help inform legal determinations in cases concerning the constitutionality of affirmative action-related policies.

Influences of the Campus Experience on the Ethnic Identity Development of Students of Color

This qualitative research study examined ethnic identity development among underrepresented students of color at a selective, research intensive, predominantly White university. The objective focused on influences of the campus experience on students’ ethnic identity development when they entered and as they prepared to graduate from college. Students were asked to reflect on how development of their ethnic identity intersected with outcomes as critical thinking, communication skills, and sense of competence. Findings include an increased learning about one’s ethnic group has cognitive and noncognitive benefits. Students felt further development of their ethnic identity had a considerable, positive impact on their sense of competence, sense of belonging, interpersonal relationships, and commitments. Institutional and policy implications are discussed.

Diversity and retention in engineering

AbstractThe authors describe three initiatives designed to increase the academic achievement and retention of historically underrepresented students (including females and underrepresented students of color) in engineering.

The computer science pipeline in urban high schools: access to what? for whom?

Our research was conceived out of a desire to understand why so few underrepresented students of color are learning computer science at the high school level. High school is a critical time for pre-college preparation and for getting on the right "track" for college and future career opportunities. Yet, by college the number of students of color obtaining bachelors degrees in computer science is remarkably small. In this article, we discuss our research on the high school "computer science pipeline." We define the "computer science pipeline" as the curriculum and opportunities available to students to learn computer science within their schools. Considering the tremendous economic and educational advantages, and the professional opportunities, that are available to students who understand computer science, this is a critical time to understand what factors are influencing African-American and Latino/a students' enrollment decisions.