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  • "I’ve felt out of place sometimes in STEM but my cultural roots say otherwise:” Latina college students’ identity conundrums and opportunities in a science research internship
Title: "I’ve felt out of place sometimes in STEM but my cultural roots say otherwise:” Latina college students’ identity conundrums and opportunities in a science research internship
In this study, we explored (a) how Latina undergraduate students negotiated their multiple identities while participating in a research internship designed to create spaces that counter master narratives, and the forms of cultural wealth that were implicated in these identity negotiations, and (b) ways in which the various elements of the research internship impacted the student’s identity negotiations. The theoretical framing brought together conceptions of identity and identity construction, the marginalization of Latin*s in science and science education and the master narratives shaping identity intersectionalities, and the creation of counter narratives that make use of multiple forms of community cultural wealth. Using phenomenology, we analyzed four Latina interns’ work artifacts generated in various activities within each element of the research internship that aimed to provide Latin* students with opportunities to explore and build on their cultural assets while studying the monarch butterfly population in relation to milkweed restoration and utilization. We found that the research interns referred to different forms of cultural wealth as they grappled with their multiple identities and their intersectionalities, and the various science research internship elements offered different pathways for their grappling. The findings point to (a) structures at the macro- and micro-levels, and enduring master narratives and distal identities, that influence proximal identities and are implicated in identity conundrums; (b) the role of cultural wealth in creating productive spaces and places of science engagement and counter narratives; and (c) the explicitness needed in educational activities so that science students may engage with the intersectionalities of their multiple identities.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1928673
PAR ID:
10546776
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Springer Nature
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Cultural Studies of Science Education
Volume:
18
Issue:
4
ISSN:
1871-1502
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1223 to 1253
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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