Longitudinal examination of the advisor–advisee relationship among Black and Latinx STEM graduate students.

Abstract

It has been reported that the advisor-advisee relationship can evolve over time (Schlosser et al., 2003). The present longitudinal qualitative study explored how the advisor-advisee relationship evolved over time among Black and Latinx science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students and which characteristics influenced the change. Critical race theory was used to explore Black and Latinx experiences at predominately White institutions as it provides an in-depth understanding of the issues in postsecondary settings (Patton, 2002). Data were collected from six semistructured individual interviews over 3 years with each participant. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with emergent coding. This study's data emerged from a larger study focusing on the experiences of underrepresented students enrolled in STEM/Social, Behavior, and Economic Sciences graduate programs at three predominantly White institutions in the Midwest. Purposeful sampling was used from this larger population to identify 19 Black and Latinx in STEM graduate programs for a more in-depth analysis. The findings suggested the majority of participants in this study reported their relationship with their advisors changed over time. Three recurring themes influenced the change as the advisor-advisee relationship developed: accessibility, trust, and communication.