An official website of the United States government
Abstract Beginning in 2019, California community colleges were required to use multiple measures to determine students’ placement into initial math courses. Community colleges also created structured BSTEM and liberal arts (SLAM) math pathways beginning in 2017. This contemporaneous implementation could reproduce racialized stratification in math course-taking. This study analyzes changes in math course-taking between Fall 2017 and Summer 2021 using multinomial logistic regression. We find that after the reforms, fewer students across racial/ethnic groups took developmental math and more students attempted SLAM and BSTEM math in the first year of enrollment. Students of color were more likely to take SLAM math and slightly less likely to take BSTEM math, even among academically prepared students. We find some evidence of racial tracking in the steeper increase in SLAM course-taking among Latina/o/x students compared to other racial/ethnic groups. We discuss implications for future policy and practice given these results.
more »
« less
Studying Latina/o Undergraduates' Scientific Literacy in an Immersive Science Research Experience
Latina/o individuals are underrepresented in the sciences at all levels of postsecondary education (Carpi et al., 2017; McGee & Bentley, 2017; Neally, 2022). This study presents survey results from a group of Latina/o undergraduates in a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research opportunity, which emphasized Latina/o students’ cultural and linguistic identities. Pre and post surveys examined students’ self-perception regarding their comfort using and evaluating scientific literature, scientific processes, and scientific communication. Results demonstrated significant differences for all except participants’ future plans in STEM, which solidified their initial interest in the field going into the program.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2244453
- PAR ID:
- 10533076
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Education Research Association
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Observations in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department of a large land-grant university with approximately 20% Latina/o enrollment revealed that Latina engineering students are significantly less likely to attend graduate school than women from other ethnic or racial groups. This observation is consistent with national trends showing underrepresentation of Latina/o populations in STEM disciplines. With this motivating background, a study has been undertaken to explore the social, cultural, educational, and institutional factors affecting matriculation of undergraduate Latina engineering students into graduate engineering programs and/or industry careers. A research team was formed with four members (co-authors of this paper) from diverse backgrounds but a common commitment toward an asset-based approach that avoids marginalizing individuals in the research design process and by selecting respective methods. Results of these team discussions and decisions sought balance between various philosophical perspectives. This work-in-progress paper describes the mixed-methods research design considerations in formulating the study with emphasis on the quantitative portion. Detailed development of the qualitative portions of the study are still in progress and will be reported at future date.more » « less
-
Although several factors influence Hispanic Latina/o/x degree attainment, less is known regarding student-to-faculty ratio at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) in Florida. We examined publicly available data for HSI ( n = 14) and non-HSI ( n = 88) degree attainment among Hispanic Latina/o/x students in Florida. Pearson correlations and regression analyses indicated statistically significant correlations between student-to-faculty ratio and Hispanic Latino/a/x students who earned bachelor’s degrees. Implications for hiring and promotion are discussed.more » « less
-
Introduction The United States struggles with racial/ethnic disparities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) degrees and occupations. According to situated expectancy-value theory, the experience and knowledge parents gain through STEM degrees and occupations shape the STEM support they provide and relatedly their adolescents' STEM motivational beliefs. Methods We analyzed data from the High School Longitudinal Study (N = 14,000; 50% female; Mage = 14 years old at 9th grade), which is a recent U.S. data set that surveyed a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Results and Conclusions Results showed that parent STEM support in 9th grade and adolescent STEM motivational beliefs in 11th grade were lower in families where parents did not have a STEM degree/occupation than in families where at least one parent had a STEM degree/occupation. Our within-group analyses suggested that parents' STEM support was generally positively related to adolescents' STEM motivational beliefs among families where parents did not have a STEM degree/occupation for all racial/ethnic groups except Black adolescents. However, these relations were not significant among adolescents who had a parent STEM degree/occupation. Furthermore, although Asian and White adolescents' parents were more likely to hold a STEM degree/occupation than Latina/o and Black adolescents' parents, the associations between parent STEM support and adolescents' STEM motivational beliefs emerged for Asian, Latina/o, and White adolescents.more » « less
-
Background: There has been a dearth of research on intersectional identities in STEM, including the fields of computing and engineering. In computing education research, much work has been done on broadening participation, but there has been little investigation into how the field of computer science (CS) presents opportunities for students with strong intersectional identities. This study explores the strengths and connections among the unique identities and the symbiotic relationships that elementary Latina students hold in CS identity attainment. Purpose: The aim of this article is to better understand how predominantly low-income, multilingual Latina students experience identity development through the lens of diverse group membership. We examine how young Latinas, through their participation in a yearlong culturally and linguistically responsive CS curriculum, leverage their intersecting identities to rewrite the formula of what a computer scientist is and can be, leaving space to include and invite other strong identities as well. Research Design: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used that analyzed data from predominantly low-income, multilingual Latinas in upper elementary grades, including pre- and post-CS identity surveys (N = 50) delivered before and after implementation of the curriculum, and eight individual semi-structured student interviews. Findings: We found that Latina students developed significantly stronger identification with the field of CS from the beginning to the end of the school year with regard to their experiences with CS, perception of themselves as computer scientists, family support for CS and school, and friend support for CS and school. Interviews revealed that perception of their CS ability greatly influenced identification with CS and that girls’ self-perceptions stemmed from their school, cultural, and home learning environments. Conclusion: Our results highlight the wealth of resources that Latinas bring to the classroom through their home- and community-based assets, which are characterized by intersecting group membership. Students did not report on the intersection between language and CS identity development, which warrants further investigation.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- The DOI is not currently available.
