Achieving success in engineering: a phenomenological exploration of Latina/o student persistence in engineering fields of study

Vasquez, Philip L.

doi:10.31274/rtd-180813-15991

Cited by 4 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Unfortunately, students who question their ability and worth in education run the risk of developing perceptions of themselves that can be destructive and invalidating (Rendón, 1994;Vasquez, 2007). A further destructive possibility of this consequence could be the development of insecurity in a time when black and Latina/o could be developing increased self-confidence and appreciation for knowledge.…”

Section: Questioning Ability or Worthmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…While the consequences above represent harmful or burdening effects on doctoral students of color, the well-substantiated consequence of peer support networks (e.g., Vasquez, 2007;Yosso, 2006) is less about forming the group than it is about processing the normative and exceptional racial aggression occurrences in their doctoral experiences that were often racialized and isolating. A black, doctoral student named Lynn explained how she and her fellow black students do not feel comfortable being present in their department without having specific tasks to complete.…”

Section: Peer-support Networkmentioning

confidence: 95%

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“Am I going crazy?!”: A Critical Race Analysis of Doctoral Education

Gildersleeve

Croom

Vasquez

2011

Equity & Excellence in Education

Self Cite

239

264

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The graduate school experience for students of color has been theorized as oppressive and dehumanizing (Gay, 2004). Scholars have struggled to document how students of color navigate and negotiate oppressive and dehumanizing conditions in their daily experiences of doctoral education. We provide a critical race analysis of the everyday experiences of Latina/o and black 1 doctoral students. We draw from critical inquiry and critical race theory to establish and describe an overarching and powerful social narrative that informs, influences, and illustrates the endemic racism through which black and Latina/o students struggle to persist in pursuit of the doctorate. We call this social narrative, "Am I going crazy?!" Deconstructing the narrative into its core elements, we provide an extended definition that illustrates a dehumanizing cultural experience in the everyday lives of doctoral students. We problematize these cultural norms to promote a more humanizing experience of doctoral education for black and Latina/o students.

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Section: Questioning Ability or Worthmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Peer-support Networkmentioning

confidence: 95%

“Am I going crazy?!”: A Critical Race Analysis of Doctoral Education

Gildersleeve

Croom

Vasquez

2011

Equity & Excellence in Education

Self Cite

239

264

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“…Census, , 2008b. A possible reason for these low rates can be partially explained by the second problem, which is that if Chicana/o students are to successfully complete a bachelor's degree they must first endure the isolating and dominating Eurocentric paradigm of American higher education embedded within the academy and its fields of study (Vasquez, 2007;Valverde, 2004;Villalpando, 2003). This dominant ideology defends and places value upon objectivity, colorblindness and individual merit in the academy that can impede a Chicana/o student's success in college.…”

Section: The Problem Facing Chicana/o College Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, with family members who may not have high levels of formal education, Latinas/os can come from homes with minimal college knowledge necessary to navigate the often daunting and complicated journey to college for first-generation college students (Auerbach, 2004;Auerbach, 2006;Collatos, Morrell, Nuno, & Lara, 2004;Martinez, 2003;Ortiz & Gonzalez, 2000;Padilla, 2007;Vasquez, 2007). The broader educational pathway presented below represents the major benchmarks in a Latina/o student's college going.…”

Section: The Latina/o Educational Pathwaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Making a Difference and Facilitating Success: A Model of Chicana/o Student Retention in Chicana/o Studies

Vasquez

Self Cite

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This list of definitions outlines commonly utilized terms the reader will find in this study. It is meant to clearly articulate my understanding of the language in the context of this research. Further, today there remains a quandary when referring to people who represent the Latina/o ethnicity. For this purpose I specifically outline how I define the terms that reference the participants in this study. Terms are listed in alphabetical order. Attrition: Failed re-enrollment of a student in education in consecutive academic terms. Also known as 'dropout,' which can imply that leaving higher education is solely the individual student's fault when institutional factors are also at play. Chicana/o student(s): In this study, Chicana/o is a term employed to represent Mexican American students. The term has come to be used as a way to reflect one's dual cultural identities, historical constructions, and political struggles for social equity (Jones & Castellanos, 2003). My choice to use the term Chicana/o when referring to participants in this study was a political choice meant to symbolize my epistemological assumption that recognizes and values the historical, political, and social struggles of Mexican Americans. Chicana/o studies: Chicana/o studies is a field that grew out of resistance to dominant Anglo scholars and practices in American higher education. It is a fluid and multidisciplinary field of study and specifically focuses on appreciating and applying the ways of knowing, being and living among Chicana/o people over history and in today's society. Culturally relevant: Ladson-Billings (1995) defined "culturally relevant" teaching as a relative and contextually based form of teaching that meets three criteria: (1) culturally relevant teaching must develop a student academically, (2) culturally relevant teaching must ix value and nurture cultural competencies and capital, and (3) culturally relevant teaching must develop a student's critical consciousness or ability to critique personal, social and political systems that impact their lives and communities. Educational attainment rate: The educational attainment rate is the percentage of people/students who graduate from any given institution, college, or department. Equality: In this study the term equality serves to mean that any relational or material possession of political, social or educational content is distributed evenly and balanced among all people. Equity: In this study I operationalize the term equity as a synonym for justice and fairness based on need. For instance, while all Chicana/o students have the right to pursue higher education in the United States, the schools in which this education takes place are unfair in that certain schools will have more resources than others, which indirectly and directly impacts students' academic participation. Therefore, education is provided to all equally, but the resources for individual schools are unjust and can require increased need among certain people. Hispanic: Hispanic, from the Latin word for "Spain," ...

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“…Despite myriad efforts, students from groups underrepresented in engineering are still less likely to persist, relative to their peers. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] To address this, many programs have incorporated design projects early in the curriculum, leading to higher overall retention of diverse students in engineering. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] For instance, students from underrepresented groups were likelier to persist if they completed a first year design course, and this was attributed to the hands-on and contextual nature of the experience 12 .…”

Section: Introduction and Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Assets of Diverse Groups for Chemical Engineering Design Problem Framing Ability

Svihla¹,

Datye²,

Gomez³

et al.

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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His research explores the social aspects of self-regulation in collaborative learning environments. In addition, he has been conducting studies examining the effects of different scaffolding approaches, including massively multiplayer online games, computer-based simulation, and dynamic modeling, on students' complex problem-solving learning outcomes. Mapping Assets of Diverse Groups for Chemical Engineering Design Problem Framing Ability AbstractEngineering programs across the US are engaged in efforts to increase the diversity of their student populations. Despite these efforts, students from groups underrepresented in engineering are still less likely to persist, relative to their peers. One approach taken is adding design earlier in programs, but faculty sometimes doubt that freshmen and sophomore students have the capacity to design. The students themselves may not realize they already possess skills and beliefs that are valuable for engineering design. We describe an approach to uncover potential and discover the attributes, skills, and beliefs that students hold. Students in the first two courses of a chemical engineering program at a Minority-Serving, Very High Research university (N=136) completed a survey and an assessment of their problem framing ability. We identified the following attributes, skills, and beliefs: women were significantly likelier than men to view design as a co-evolutionary process and first generation college attendees were significantly more likely to agree that design is a learning activity. Regression analysis revealed that students in the introductory course produced more expert problem framing if they viewed constraint as endemic to design. Students who rated their pre-college knowledge of and confidence in engineering lower actually framed problems more expertly. This suggests students need to learn early that constraint is endemic to design. Implications for instruction include communicating to students that the work of engineers involves framing problems and providing opportunities for them to develop these abilities. Identifying the strengths students bring could help faculty build on students' existing strengths. We should not view limited prior experience and low confidence as a deficit. Introduction and purpose

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Achieving success in engineering: a phenomenological exploration of Latina/o student persistence in engineering fields of study

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

“Am I going crazy?!”: A Critical Race Analysis of Doctoral Education

“Am I going crazy?!”: A Critical Race Analysis of Doctoral Education

Making a Difference and Facilitating Success: A Model of Chicana/o Student Retention in Chicana/o Studies

Mapping Assets of Diverse Groups for Chemical Engineering Design Problem Framing Ability

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