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Low enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of African American engineering students in the United States are a cause for concern [1]. Consequently, over the last decade there has been an upsurge of research identifying factors that have contributed to the problems encountered by African American students in higher education institutions in general, and in STEM fields in particular [2, 3]. The key factors identified as contributing to the attrition of minority African American students include perceptions of racism on campus, internalization of stereotypes, feelings of alienation and rejection, and inadequate support systems [4, 5]. In this context, considerations of institutional demographic characteristics, including the ethnic makeup of the student body is essential. Studies demonstrate that African American students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) experience lower levels of isolation and overt racism, and higher levels of retention compared to African American students in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) [6, 7]. While some studies suggest that African American students experience lower levels of stereotype threat in HBCUs [8, 9], other studies indicate that there is little significant difference between students attending PWIs and HBCUs in their perceptions of stereotype threat. Based on qualitative and quantitative data from a national sample of engineering students, Brown, Morning, and Watkins report that students enrolled in HBCUs had more favorable perceptions of their college experience and that the higher graduation rate of African American students in HBCUs compared to their PWI counterparts could be attributed to lower perceptions of racism and discrimination [10]. It may be that the levels of stereotype threat experienced in the two types of institutions are different [11]. Based on the literature reviewed, the purpose of this study is to examine whether African American engineering students’ numerical majority status in HBCUs enhances the compatibility between their racial and professional identities and facilitates their integration; while their numerical minority status in PWIs diminishes the compatibility of the two social identities and stymies their integration. We examine this issue within the Social Identity and the Identity-focused Cultural Ecological Perspective theories. Before we turn to the two theoretical frameworks we describe the multiple context-dependent representations of majority-minority status with particular focus on African American college students in the United States.
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This content will become publicly available on June 16, 2026
Longitudinal Analysis of Academic Motivation: Examining the Antecedent Roles of Perceived Discrimination and Stereotype Threat Among African American STEM Majors
Structural and social-psychological factors, including race-related stressors such as discrimination and stereotype threat, contribute to the underrepresentation of African American college students in STEM by thwarting students’ motivation and serving as push-out factors. Academic burnout and low momentum-state inertia (LMSI) are two forms of motivation that may develop in response to perceived discrimination and stereotype threat. The present study examined the growth trajectories of burnout and LMSI as a function of race-related stressors using the integrated process and motivational experiences models as guiding theoretical frameworks. Longitudinal data were collected from 500 African American students majoring in STEM disciplines at an Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and a predominantly White institution (PWI). Results of unconditional latent growth curve analyses showed that both academic burnout and LMSI increased over time. Results of conditional latent growth curve analyses revealed that perceived discrimination was not significantly associated with increases in burnout or LMSI. Stereotype threat was instead associated with higher academic burnout and LMSI initially, but decreasing burnout and LMSI over time.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1661201
- PAR ID:
- 10601010
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Black Psychology
- ISSN:
- 0095-7984
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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