Search for: All records

In the midst of an expanding knowledge-based economy, there remains a policy emphasis on increasing the number of professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) within the United States. In addition to a general interest in increasing STEM pathways for all students, there have been concentrated efforts to expand opportunities and STEM-related academic achievement for Black and Latinx students because of their underrepresentation in many of these fields. This critical quantitative study employs large-scale national data to examine an important outcome for Black and Latinx students’ STEM academic trajectories—their math achievement during high school. A strength-based role strain and adaptation approach is employed to investigate how students’ math challenges and math-related multilevel strengths (i.e., positive psychological attributes and social supports) combine to influence their math achievement. Furthermore, we examine how the relationship between students’ strengths and achievement may be moderated by their prior math challenges. The findings suggest that some aspects of Black and Latinx students’ strengths (e.g., math identity, math self-efficacy, and math-related social support) are positively related to their achievement; however, in some instances, the nature of these relationships may differ according to students’ prior math challenges. Based upon these findings, the authors advance a theory of strain-induced performance–perception misalignment that emphasizes how students’ prior math challenges may create a barrier to the potential benefits of positive math-related psychological orientations. Implications for the following are discussed: theory; educational practice regarding social supports and the need to change educators’ psychological dispositions; and opportunity gaps and STEM education policy.