Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

STEM identity construction and career aspirations in Latinas: A qualitative examination of the influences of interactions with male family members during childhood

Girls often express feelings of alienation from the STEM field due to its portrayal as a predominantly masculine field and consequently are less likely to enter STEM themselves. This lack of access is accentuated for female students of minoritized racial/ethnic groups, such as Latinas (Hazari, Sadler, & Sonnert, 2013). Moreover, the construct of STEM identity has shown strong links to STEM career aspirations (Hazari et al., 2010), therefore inquiries into promoting STEM identity may be fruitful in encouraging young minoritized women to consider STEM. Because the majority of individuals represented in STEM are males (Chen, 2009), it may be worthwhile to consider recognition events (i.e., being seen by others as a STEM person) that manifest in science-centered interactions between Latinas and male family members on Latinas' STEM identity development. The purpose of my research is to examine the recalled interactions between Latina children and their male family members and demonstrate the ways in which these interactions relate to STEM identity adoption. This research dissects the following question: For Latina college students, how do their childhood conversations with male family members relate to their STEM identity construction and decision to pursue STEM? This research is based on a larger study of STEM majors at a large Hispanic Serving Institution. Students enrolled in introductory STEM courses were surveyed about their sense of self as a STEM person (i.e., STEM identity) and their childhood experiences related to STEM, including conversations with family members. For the research presented here, six individuals were selected for interviews based on their expression of high STEM identity and indication of talking with male family members during their childhood. Interview transcripts were coded using a coding framework developed through a review of science identity literature. Codes consisted of four tiers: identity-related code, topic of conversation, setting of conversation, and person involved in conversation. To address research question in profundity, codes relevant to male family members were further examined. Interview responses from the six participants revealed three themes across participants. First, father figures frequently projected career aspirations that leaned towards prestigious jobs that participated in "real" science, such as doctor or engineer, rather than science jobs that were perceived as more theoretical, such as physics. This aligns with the experiences of minoritized students in the UK (Wong, 2015). Secondly, it was also observed that the participants gravitated towards the male family figure when it came to engaging in fun science activities. Finally, the participants tended to direct science questions, especially those related to general curiosity rather than school work, to their brothers and fathers rather than to female figures. Though the results do not suggest that female family members are insignificant in STEM identity development, they do indicate that male family members may play an important and unique role in interacting with Latina children. Given the masculine culture of power that persists around STEM, it is possible that interactions with male family figures are particularly valuable during recognition events by someone perceived to have more authority to engage with science--a conjecture that needs further study. However, these results do suggest value in developing programs that promote father-daughter/brother-sister collaboration in STEM activities.