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1. “I want to make an impact”: The science identity and career intentions of Black and Latinx postdoctoral scholars.

   Mendez, S L; Watson, K; Starkey, K E; Conley, V M (February 2024, Journal of women and minorities in science and engineering)

   This instrumental case study examines the science identity and career goals of 16 Black and Latinx science and engineering postdoctoral scholars. Interviews were conducted and grounded by the model of science identity to understand the ways in which science identity develops over time and the influence of race/ethnicity and gender on career goals. Through deductive data analysis techniques, four themes emerged: (1) science competency is built at an early age and solidified in high school; (2) science performance is actualized but questioned in college; (3) science recognition is fostered through professional development and success; and (4) racism and sexism shape the desire to make an impact through a STEM career. Understanding how Black and Latinx postdoctoral scholars’ science identity and STEM career goals are nurtured and thwarted within educational systems can be illuminating to those training the next generation of advanced STEM professionals. If the individuals next in line to enter the professoriate are deterred, greater consideration must be given to their experiences. 

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2. Environmental Influences on the STEM Identity and Career Intentions of Latinx STEM Postdoctoral Scholars

   https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192721992436  

   Mendez, Sylvia L.; Starkey, Kathryn E.; Cooksey, Sarah E.; Conley, Valerie Martin (February 2021, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education)

   This study employs an instrumental case study design to explore the environmental context of Latinx postdoctoral scholars in relation to their STEM identity and intended STEM career pathway. Interviews were conducted using an interactionist approach to STEM identity development. Deductive data analysis techniques reveal the impact of supervisor relationships on the work environment, the importance of fostering a mentoring atmosphere for others, and the value of seeking and creating safe and supportive spaces. 

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3. “Getting into academia can be tough”: The mentoring needs of Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars.

   Mendez, S. L.; Cooksey, S. E.; Watson, K.; Haynes, C.; McCoy, T.; Phillips, C.; Higgs, F.; Hicks, I.; & Arnett, N. (September 2023, Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research)

   This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars who aspire to the professoriate. An adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) is employed as the conceptual framework. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was utilized to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is: Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional network and receiving support in being a competitive faculty applicant, as well as coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills and acquiring political guidance on racial/ethnic bias in academia. The findings of this study reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral advisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 

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4. “Getting into academia can be tough”: The mentoring needs of Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars.

   Mendez, S. L.; Cooksey, S. E.; Watson, K.; Haynes, C.; McCoy, T.; Phillips, C.; Higgs, F.; Hicks, I.; Arnett, N. (September 2023, Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research)

   This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars who aspire to the professoriate. An adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) is employed as the conceptual framework. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was utilized to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is: Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional network and receiving support in being a competitive faculty applicant, as well as coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills and acquiring political guidance on racial/ethnic bias in academia. The findings of this study reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral advisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 

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5. When talent goes unrecognized: racial discrimination, community recognition, and STEM postdocs’ science identities

   https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-12-2020-0079  

   Brockman, Amanda J.; Naphan-Kingery, Dara E.; Pitt, Richard N. (May 2022, Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education)

   Purpose While science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) postdoctoral scholars often enter their positions with strong science identities, racially marginalized scholars are often not treated as scientists, which can weaken their science identities. This study aims to examine how racial discrimination negatively affects their science identities in STEM and the importance of community recognition in mitigating these effects. Design/methodology/approach The authors use reflected appraisals and identity theory to theoretically guide this work. The data are based on a survey of 215 postdoctoral scholars in STEM disciplines. Findings The authors find that community recognition mediates the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and postdoctoral scholars’ science identities. Research limitations/implications The study shows the importance of recognizing the achievements and identities of underrepresented STEM scholars to counteract the chronic and cumulative identity nonverification that leaves talent unrecognized and disrupts scholars’ science identities. Originality/value The authors explore the negative impact of discriminatory experiences on the importance individuals place on their identities as scientists and if this can be affected by the degree to which they feel that other scientists recognize them as competent scientists among a group of scholars who have earned the highest of academic degrees, and who are also relatively understudied: postdocs. 

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