Board # 87 : Native-Born and Foreign-Born Black Students in STEM: Addressing STEM Identity and Belonging Barriers and their Effects on STEM Retention and Persistence at the Two Year College

Abstract

Background Two-year colleges provide a rich, diverse student population (people of color, women, older students, veterans, foreign born students, international students, first-generation college-goers, low-income, and working parents) with access to higher education who thus have the potential to increase participation of underrepresented students in STEM. Unfortunately, graduation and transfer rates for black students (native-born and foreign-born) are still significantly lower than those of their non-black counterparts (with the exception of Pacific Islanders and Native Americans) at both the two-year college and four-year college.Factors influencing retention and persistence in STEM majors are diverse and often interconnected. Leading reasons for low STEM retention and persistence at both the two-year and four-year colleges are: uninspiring introductory courses, lack of math preparation, and an academic culture not welcoming of women, minorities, and non-traditional students. 1,2 Numerous efforts have been initiated to increase the numbers and success of underrepresented students majoring in STEM disciplines; however, factors influencing retention and persistence of STEM majors continue to be problematic.It is important to focus on the culture of STEM education because the social, psychological, and structural dimensions of STEM in these institutions influence how students connect their personal identities to their academic domains and view themselves as learners in those domains (their academic identities), which subsequently affects their efforts and achievement. [3][4][5] In STEM fields, underrepresented minorities are particularly vulnerable to disengagement with the "STEM culture" (leaving a STEM field of study) due to beliefs about their ability to succeed in STEM, even when accounting for prior academic preparation. 6 The relationship between institutional or disciplinary culture, race, and ethnicity is especially relevant to racial and ethnic minorities that are even more underrepresented in STEM than they are in most other fields. 7,8 In 2014, 10.5 million foreign-born persons had a college degree or higher, representing about twenty-nine percent of the total 36.7 million U.S. foreign-born population ages 25 and over. Foreign-born Americans are earning STEM degrees in disproportionately large numbers, compared to the native-born U.S. population. 9 Thirty-three percent of all graduates with engineering degrees are foreign-born, twenty-seven percent are graduates in computers, math, and statistics, and twenty-four percent are in physical sciences. 9,10 Of the entire foreign-born population receiving STEM degrees, foreign-born blacks and native-born blacks make up only eight percent of all STEM graduates. 11 Surprisingly, however, foreign-born black students are enrolling in post-secondary institutions and graduating at higher rates than native-born black students. 12 In today's society, ethnicity and nationality are often subsumed by race and thus the distinctions among people of the same race are c...

“I’ve always been in private school”: The role of familial norms and supports in Black immigrant students’ preparation for STEM majors.

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Preparing Future Engineers Through Project-Based Learning

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