Evading Race: STEM Faculty Struggle to Acknowledge Racialized Classroom Events

King, Gretchen P; Russo-Tait, Tatiane; Andrews, Tessa C.

doi:10.1187/cbe.22-06-0104

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Our diverse sample predominantly expressed a preference for mentors who acknowledge race. Therefore, if previous research indicates widespread adoption of a colorblind mentoring approach by research mentors [2][3][4]11,12] and, at the same time, most surveyed students find such an approach to be unfavorable, it becomes a crucial focal point for intervention strategies. These findings add to the existing body of research by suggesting that a colorblind mentoring approach could lead to the attrition of Students of Color in STEM fields and highlight the need for mentors to recognize and address race in their mentoring relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research highlights the widespread adoption of a colorblind mentoring approach among research mentors [2][3][4]11,12]. Many academics are inclined to downplay racial privileges and instead endorse the idea that academia is a colorblind meritocracy in which everyone has an equal opportunity to be successful [93].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The persistent shortage of people with the training and desire to enter the STEM workforce is a serious economic concern within the U.S. [1]. This shortage is compounded by the fact that many STEM fields continue to exhibit substantial racial inequities [2][3][4][5][6]. Failing to recruit and retain members of marginalized racial groups hinders STEM innovation and constitutes a social justice problem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, Students of Color report a range of experiences-some positive and some negative-within the context of their mentoring relationships [8][9][10]. More so, a growing body of evidence indicates that some research mentors intentionally attempt to ignore race and racial inequity (e.g., a colorblind approach) when working with Students of Color [2][3][4]11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Research Mentors Should Support Students of Color by Taking an Extra Step.” Undergraduates’ Reasoning about Race and STEM Research Mentorship

Vierra,

Beltran,

Denecker

et al. 2024

Education Sciences

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Racial inequities and the adoption of a colorblind approach in education contribute to a situation wherein many academics lack the personal experience and incentive needed to identify and confront racism within society and institutions. This may be particularly the case in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), which tend to have lower levels of diversity compared to other fields. The current study examines undergraduates’ perceptions of whether STEM research mentors should consider race when mentoring students from marginalized backgrounds. We employ a mixed-methods approach with the goal of uncovering how undergraduate students perceive and rationalize research mentoring practices. Findings reveal that a strong majority of undergraduate students believe that research mentors should take race into account when mentoring students from marginalized backgrounds. During the qualitative coding process, the research team unearthed seven overarching themes that outline undergraduates’ reasoning, both in favor and against STEM research mentors considering race. We conclude by presenting an intervention intended to motivate individuals to redress colorblind ideologies and thus support a culturally sensitive mentoring style.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Research Mentors Should Support Students of Color by Taking an Extra Step.” Undergraduates’ Reasoning about Race and STEM Research Mentorship

Vierra,

Beltran,

Denecker

et al. 2024

Education Sciences

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show abstract

“…In addition to facing resistance from the field as to whether or not humanizing content belongs in the sciences or the humanities classroom, the idea of embedding such content into biology curricula may also be an intimidating prospect for instructors. For example, previous research suggests that STEM faculty within higher education, when presented with narratives about common, harmful anti-Black racialized experiences, are more likely to respond in a way that avoids discussion of race (King et al, 2023).…”

Section: Humanization In Biology Curriculamentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology in a social context: a comprehensive analysis of humanization in introductory biology textbooks

Meuler,

Lee,

Foutch

et al. 2023

Front. Educ.

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To grapple with the sterility and Whiteness of Western science, scholars have proposed a pedagogical shift to culturally relevant and/or culturally sustaining pedagogy. A key tenet of culturally relevant pedagogy is a focus on developing students’ ability to use the knowledge they obtain to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems. Thus, the ability to foster this consciousness among students and make justice/injustice visible within biology curricula is an act of humanization. Here, we characterize and quantify the extent to which six prominent introductory biology US-based textbooks include humanizing content. First, we built consensus on what it means to humanize biology in a textbook by iteratively revising a coding protocol until we achieved a continuum of humanization. Our continuum evaluates the quantity, location, and the nature of the humanizing element within the textbook. Then, we used the continuum to collect data through qualitative coding: each chapter of each textbook was coded by two coders who came to consensus on the humanizing elements within. We find that in general, the inclusion of humanizing content in introductory biology textbooks is rare: of the 9,670 pages of textbooks that we analyzed, we found 1,352 humanizing passages but the vast majority of these were discussed in a single sentence (23%) or multiple sentences (61%), rarely multiple paragraphs (13%) or entire sections (2%). Similarly, of the 9,262 questions in the books (e.g., in section or chapter summaries), only 2.5% of them were humanizing and of those, only (64%) provided an answer, and of the ones that provided an answer, we only coded 42% of the answers as humanizing. In addition to quantifying the amount of humanization, we also describe the ways in which the passages were presented. For example, only about 9% of the humanizing passages included nuance, 5% discussed equity/inequity, and only 4% positioned biology as a means to accomplish justice. In all, we present what we believe is the most comprehensive assessment of humanizing elements in introductory biology textbooks and pair that with specific guidance to instructors who seek to include humanizing elements in their classes.

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Investigating Racial and Ethnic Differences in Learning with a Digital Game and Tutor for Decimal Numbers

Ni,

Nguyen,

Else-Quest

et al. 2024

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Evading Race: STEM Faculty Struggle to Acknowledge Racialized Classroom Events

Cited by 14 publications

References 79 publications

“Research Mentors Should Support Students of Color by Taking an Extra Step.” Undergraduates’ Reasoning about Race and STEM Research Mentorship

“Research Mentors Should Support Students of Color by Taking an Extra Step.” Undergraduates’ Reasoning about Race and STEM Research Mentorship

Biology in a social context: a comprehensive analysis of humanization in introductory biology textbooks

Investigating Racial and Ethnic Differences in Learning with a Digital Game and Tutor for Decimal Numbers

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