STEM Identities: A Communication Theory of Identity Approach

Abstract

Education and psychology research has established STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) identities as an important factor in explaining student persistence in STEM fields. Few studies in social psychology of language or communication have investigated STEM identities, despite the fundamentally communicative nature of identity. Identity talk produced in semi-structured interviews with undergraduate engineering majors ( N = 16) at three U.S. universities was analyzed qualitatively using the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) as a sensitizing framework. The analysis showed that these students’ STEM identities emphasized personal attributes such as work ethic and a desire to make a positive difference in the world as well as relationships with peers in engineering. A number of potential identity gaps which might present barriers to forming a STEM identity were also evident in the data. These results underscore the importance of a communicative (interactive and relational) perspective in understanding students’ development and expression of STEM identities.

Minoritized Scientists in the United States: An Identity Perspective to Science Communication

“…Davies et al (2019) argue that "understanding science communication as meaning-making, therefore, draws our attention to its functions at the level of shared identities and imaginations, alongside its undoubted role in disseminating particular scientific notions" (p. 3). Stewart (2022) and Stewart and colleagues (2023) applied the CTI as a framework for understanding STEM identities among undergraduate students. Because of the lack of representation in STEM fields, people from historically minoritized groups can "face barriers to developing STEM identities based on race, ethnicity, and gender" (Stewart, 2022, p. 149).…”

“…Stewart (2022) and Stewart and colleagues (2023) applied the CTI as a framework for understanding STEM identities among undergraduate students. Because of the lack of representation in STEM fields, people from historically minoritized groups can “face barriers to developing STEM identities based on race, ethnicity, and gender” (Stewart, 2022, p. 149).…”

“…Stewart (2022) and Stewart and colleagues (2023) applied the CTI as a framework for understanding STEM identities among undergraduate students. Because of the lack of representation in STEM fields, people from historically minoritized groups can “face barriers to developing STEM identities based on race, ethnicity, and gender” (Stewart, 2022, p. 149). It means that people from historically minoritized groups may choose a different field of work, especially because they do not see themselves as the stereotype of who can or should be a scientist.…”

Being Creative Within (or Outside) the Box: Bridging Occupational Identity Gaps

“…Only a handful of researchers have employed CTI to study identity gaps in the context of organizations. Most recently, Stewart (2022) used CTI to understand students' STEM identities. His interviews with students demonstrate the personal (e.g., being intelligent), relational (e.g., perceptions of STEM students being able to fix things), communal (e.g., being "STEM people" collectively), and enacted (e.g., doing school projects) layers involved in constructing STEM identities.…”

“…His interviews with students demonstrate the personal (e.g., being intelligent), relational (e.g., perceptions of STEM students being able to fix things), communal (e.g., being "STEM people" collectively), and enacted (e.g., doing school projects) layers involved in constructing STEM identities. Stewart's (2022) analysis also identified identity gaps present within STEM identities, such as the personal-enacted gap, which often existed between a student's competence and their performance in STEM courses. In addition, Compton (2016) coded interviews with gay and lesbian employees to show how workers managed their sexual identities through coworker communication (relational frame) and organizational policies (communal frame), which resulted in mixed messages (relational-communal gaps).…”