Manual de normas y procedimiento

Resistant

9.   Tell me about an experience that stands out as

discouraging you toward majoring in {your major} prior to attending college, if any.

INTERVIEW II Aspirational/Navigational/ resistant Linguistic Social/Resistant Aspirational/navigational/ resistant Social/navigational Navigational/resistant Navigational/resistant Navigational/resistant

10.  Take me through your experience as a Latinx STEM

major.

Probe: What it was like being a Latinx student on campus/in classes at your university?

How did you view your abilities? Do you think high school prepared you for college level STEM? Explain.

Are you bilingual? Do you think being bilingual is valuable as a STEM major? Explain.

11.  How would you describe your college climate and

setting? Give me some examples.

How do you think your peers and instructors/professors viewed your abilities to complete the coursework?

Describe a typical STEM major at your college.

Did you socialize with other STEM majors? If yes, how so? Roughly, what percent of students in your major are like you In regard to race? Did this impact your comfort level in class?

12.  Tell me about a challenging time in college.

Probe: What experiences stand out as discouraging you toward majoring in…?

13.  What support did you have on campus, if any, as a Student of

Color/Latinx student? Latinx STEM major?

Probe: Who did you reach out to you when you had questions or concerns about school/college? How did they help?

14.  Describe what life has been like since graduation.

Probe: how was the job interviewing process, did you feel prepared to pursue STEM jobs?

15.  What advice would you give to new Latinx students in a

STEM program to help them persist in the program?

16.  What recommendations do you have for universities who

want to help improve Students of Color student’s/Latinx retention in STEM programs?

Data Analysis Procedures

After I collected the data from participants, I transcribed the interviews from the audio recordings using Express Scribe software. To study the experience of

undergraduate engineering student experiences, Samuelson and Litzler (2006) gathered data from interviews and applied CCW concepts and their research questions to guide coding generation. Open and focused coding methods allowed for additional categories to emerge inductively from the data (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 2011; Samuelson & Litzler, 2016). Seidman (2006) suggests organizing excerpts from the data into

categories and for connections between the various categories. I read the transcripts and marked where I found interesting comments or reflections. Using interviews, Chang (2017) examined the manipulation of language by high school Latinas and how it demonstrated “the insidious nature of racism both in its daily imposition and in its far- reaching effects” (p. 248). I applied LatCrit to interpret Latinx’ responses and keywords to see the language participants used that reflected power and racism. Pre-existing categories were formed and I listened for the themes emerge. After identifying codes, then units of data, I created categories. Seidman (2006) recommends after reading two to three interviews, that that the researcher pause to consider whether they can be

labeled. For example, after reading the first three interviews, were there phrases that kept appearing? This is a form of classifying or coding data from interviews.

Kouyoumdijan et al. (2017) collected surveys and examined the challenges and supports students identified that impacted first and second-generation students’ college completion. They looked for key categories in the responses students provided to the

survey. Categories were clustered into key themes. For example, financial problems were reported most frequently, while some students reported no challenges. Latinx students may not be aware of structures of power or how certain experiences were actually subtle forms of racism or power. This is why it is so important to have a critical lens to examine the transcripts I produced from interviews. I used a web-based data analysis software called Dedoose to review the data to identify findings.

My theoretical framework of LatCrit and CCW served as a guide to organize the data I collected. Using LatCrit, I looked for emerging themes related to institutional structures that impacted the Latinx experience in STEM.

Validity

To address the validity of my study, the three-interview structure incorporate features that ensure validity, placing participants’ comments in context (Seidman, 2006). Using Seidman’s three-interview model, I connected participants’ experiences and checked the comments of one participant against those of others. More importantly, the way I structured the interview with semi-structured questions allowed for participants to understand and make sense of their experiences. Data was recorded and transcribed carefully to ensure it would not be misrepresented.

Positionality

It is necessary to recognize where we stand as researchers in respect to power (Takacs, 2002) and it is an essential skill for social change agent. As a result, we have a standpoint from which to challenge power and transform ourselves. In regard to a researcher’s positionality, Takacs says:

We spend our time trying to convince others to understand us or to adopt our view. Simply acknowledging that one’s knowledge claims are not universal truth- that one’s Positionality can bias one’s epistemology-is one step forward toward a world of possibilities. (p. 169)

I was open to the possible findings from my proposed study and that is why I was cognizant of the various factors that would impact the participant’s responses. I recognized that (1) I was born and raised in the United States; (2) my ancestry is

Mexican; (3) I attended predominantly Latino public schools in the City of Chicago; (4) I graduated from a predominantly White university; and (5) I believe that our country has the means to provide equality and educational opportunities for every child and person.

Limitations

This study has limitations as related to the data collection type. The interviews were face-to-face or via Skype/phone depending on the participants’ availability. Due to the small number of participants, I was be limited in making generalizations outside of the study and phenomena I am examining. However, I do not plan to generalize findings from this study to broader theory.

Researcher Role

Prior to interviewing the participants, I practiced asking the questions to norm the interviewing process such as establishing the setting, timing of questions or pauses and creating some rapport with the participants. My role in this study was to create a space where Latinx students felt comfortable sharing their experiences. I shared with

participants some of own experience as a student and as a science teacher. I think this helped create some rapport with them.

Conclusion

Through this research methodology and the application of LatCrit and CCW, the design accomplished my goal of sharing the experiences of Latinx, who are

underrepresented in STEM. An important aspect of my methodology is the opportunity to listen to the experiences of Latinx students with the recognition of my epistemological stance.

89 CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS

In this chapter, I provide a description of each of my participants, using

pseudonyms to maintain confidentiality, to better understand the diverse experiences they brought to this study. Next, I answer the research question that guided this study: What are the undergraduate educational experiences of Latinx students who major in STEM? In addition, I answer the following sub-questions: What factors impact Latinx students’ decisions to pursue STEM degrees? What factors contribute to students’ persistence in STEM? How do various forms of capital, specifically those identified in Yosso’s (2005) theory of Community Cultural Wealth, impact Latinx STEM undergraduates in their pursuit of a STEM degree? I employed Latino critical theory and the Community Cultural Wealth theory to analyze participants’ interview responses. After categorizing and coding key phrases, then, I checked for themes related to each research question. I conclude this chapter with a summary of the study.

Description of Participants Elizabeth

Elizabeth is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and the youngest of four girls. Her mother earned a teaching certificate while raising her children, and became a public school teacher in Chicago, Illinois. During the interview, Elizabeth shared how staying after school while her mother worked exposed her to the importance of education. She

also stated that it was an expectation in her family to attend college as her three older sisters had all received bachelor’s degrees. Elizabeth’s father and mother stressed the importance of education throughout her entire life.

Elizabeth chose a small university in Wisconsin because she preferred smaller class sizes and was offered access to a federal outreach and student services program. Despite support through the program and other sources, Elizabeth did not feel prepared for the science courses she attended in college. Her high school offered some

experiences in labs, but the classes and content were not rigorous enough. She described a break down she had in her sophomore year when she realized the limited content and exposure she had to biology and chemistry, two essential subjects for her degree.

Elizabeth was able to grasp concepts easily, but she felt she had a lot of catching up to do. She even supported her Latinx peers that struggled in organic chemistry and other science courses and felt it was critical to help them succeed as Latinx. She expressed throughout the interview, how lucky she felt that she had financial support, but her Latinx friends worked long hours to finance their college education. Despite, some struggles, Elizabeth graduated with good grades and a biology-chemistry degree. Familial support, both emotionally and financially were essential in helping Elizabeth complete her major. She currently serves as a scientist for a lab testing company. Elizabeth helped recruit another Latina biology major for this study.

Maggie

Maggie is pursuing a double major in informational technology and accounting. She is 21 years-old, and while she has not graduated, she completed her coursework in

technology, therefore she was interviewed because she finished the STEM portion of her degree. In addition, Maggie was the only participant with a focus on technology. She became a participant after one of the other participants shared my recruitment flyer with her. Maggie expressed, prior to the interviews that she really wanted to share her story as she saw very few Latinx in her science and technology classes and so it was important for her to share her experience.

Being the youngest of the three children, Maggie described herself as confident and competitive. Her parents came to the United States from Mexico, and while they did not attend college, they supported her emotionally and financially. Maggie expressed her familial support as a blessing, and at the same time, she pressured herself to take on core classes during freshmen year because she wanted her parents’ financial support to be “worth something.” However, she found herself not feeling successful in science. Instead she gravitated toward business and informational technology. She enjoyed coding and web development classes in high school and thus, chose to pursue a degree in this area, along with a double major in accounting. Maggie expressed how important it was for her to share her story because she has mentored other Latina/os in college and she has a desire to see “more of us”, meaning Latinos, succeed, and not merely enroll in STEM.

Beatriz

Beatriz was recruited by Elizabeth as they know each other from a Latina sorority they joined post-college. She is a recent college graduate (2017) who can easily be mistaken for a high school student. She has the friendliest smile and looking at her, you wouldn’t notice the hardships this young lady has endured to complete a biology degree.

Due to her brother’s illness that required around the clock care from her parents, Beatriz was partially raised by her neighbor, Mami Carmen. Because of immigration restrictions, her brother does not qualify for medical assistance and so her parents have provided his 24-hour medical care. This experience was influential in Beatriz’s decision to pursue a biology degree because she often had to translate and explain complicated medical procedures and conditions to her parents during her brother’s doctor’s appointments. In addition, this created stress for Beatriz as she struggled to balance school and her family’s needs.

A desire to stay close to home and to have easy access to her family and

neighbor’s emotional support, Beatriz chose a university she could commute to on a daily basis. Beatriz had been set on community college due to her aptitude scores, but she received encouragement from two high school teachers and an advisor that convinced her to look past her “remedial scores”, as she referred to her ACT scores, and apply for universities. Beatriz shared that when she was not in class or commuting to and from campus, she was seeking tutoring and opportunities to earn extra credit as she was determined to graduate with a bachelor’s in biology. She has chosen to pursue a job as a clinical researcher with her degree.

Fernando

Through amnesty back in the 1980s, Fernando’s father became a legal resident of the United States. Fernando’s mother became a resident as well. His father stopped going to school at the second grade, and his mother at the third grade. They sought a better life in the United States and settled themselves in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Education was

highly praised and emphasized to Fernando and his siblings, and while his parents weren’t able to help him with school work, going to college became an unspoken expectation.

Fernando graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in May of 2017. He attended a university in Wisconsin. He made many friends through a fraternity and other Latinx organizations, and while he described his campus as diverse, he found that his White, male classmates in his engineering courses were not approachable. During his time living in a dorm, as a freshmen, Fernando found an offensive sticker on his room door. He believed that the boys on his floor placed it. Fernando described that experience as a time when he felt ready to “shut down.” He did not seek out support for the difficult time he was having and he blamed his “machismo” for feeling too proud to get help. However, he eventually found Latinx organizations that provided him a sense of kinship. Family and friends were very important to Fernando as he worked toward his degree. He is currently an engineer and travels often for his job.

Rick

Rick moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Puerto Rico with his mother, two older brothers and a younger sister. In response to how he grew up and what values were taught at home, Rick shared that job security was emphasized and not college. During high school, Rick worked on a farm to help his family pay bills. The costs of college discouraged his family from thinking about it. He often heard his mother and brothers say that college was “meant for other people.” These ‘other people’ meant families with two-parent homes and financial stability. This did not discourage Rick from pursuing his

dream of higher education. When he applied to college, Rick did so without telling his family to avoid upsetting them. However, despite his feeling that he would upset his family by attending college, Rick’s mother was the first person he turned to when he experienced hardships in college.

Visits from university students that had graduated from his high school motivated Rick to apply as he was motivated by seeing people from his neighborhood ‘make it’, and he saw that opportunity for himself. After hearing about civil engineering at a career fair, Rick was intrigued and made it his goal. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and has chosen this career path.

Natalia

College was highly emphasized in Natalia’s home. She has a sister at Stanford working on a doctorate and her parents did everything they could to support Natalia, from hiring tutors to support her while she was at an International Baccalaureate high school. They wanted to do everything to make sure she achieved. Natalia was motivated to pursue engineering because she believed she was very good at it in high school. She earned a scholarship to attend a university in Wisconsin. While she thought she was prepared for college coursework, she found herself struggling to keep up during her four years there. Overall, Natalia described engineering courses as very difficult for anyone. She shared that she had to seek mental health and counseling due to the anxiety she experienced. She eventually learned not to pressure herself. She graduated with an engineering degree and was immediately hired in her field.

Sofia

Sofia is Mexican-American and from Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a working-class, neighborhood and attended public schools throughout her K-12 and college education. Her parents came to the United States for better opportunities and while Sofia’s mother completed some college courses, she did not finish a degree. Thus, Sofia and her five siblings are first-generation college graduates. The public high school Sofia attended has been considered a highly competitive school on a national level. Sofia attributes her secondary experience as influential in helping her complete college.

However, Sofia saw that the university she attended was not very welcoming to Students of Color and this created issues for her ability to focus on school work.

Sofia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and was determined to become a doctor. Sofia had the grades and aptitude to attend medical school, but

eventually chose not to follow this career plan. Sofia described the basis of this decision on family and cultural expectations that influenced her to return home after graduation. Sofia is an IRB administrator for a medical hospital in Chicago. She has not crossed medical school off her list of career and life goals. During the interviews, Sofia stressed the importance of community and returning home to make a difference. She returned to her neighborhood to mentor other Latina/os interested in college and STEM. Out of the entire group of participants, she was the only person to say high school helped prepare her for college.

Michael

Michael is the second youngest of 11 in his family, yet the first to graduate with a college degree from a four-year university. His mother was a single parent from Mexico