Engineering a Framework to Better Support Students of

Color in STEM
Patrick Bell, Jennifer Gutierrez, Kitsya Macias,
Cristian Monroy, Garrett Leonidas Sloan, Xiaopan Xue
California State University, Fullerton
Topic

The purpose of this research project was to ascertain how participants curricular
and co-curricular experiences affected the persistence of students of color in STEM
majors in their third, fourth, or final year of their undergraduate careers. In our study,
persistence can be defined as the motivation and effort to remain in the major and
ultimately keep moving toward graduation. In addition, persistence can look different for
each individual student.

Interview questions focused on several topics, including persistence and attrition,

academic preparation and ensuing experiences, sense of belonging, self-efficacy and
career capital. Ultimately, we hoped to uncover intentional strategies to best support
students of color in STEM majors so that they can persist in their field of choice.

Methodology
Through qualitative interviews, we interviewed twelve students of color in their third,
fourth, or fifth year of undergraduate education within a STEM major. Interview
participants were recruited via a purposive sampling technique, one where
participants are chosen based on predetermined criteria about the extent to which
the selected subjects could contribute to the research study" (Vaughn, Schumm, &
Singagub, 1996, p. 58).
Interviews were audio-recorded with the written consent of participants. They were
then transcribed to form a dialogue of the conversation and underwent thematic
analyses to create a coding system that would compile a list of prevalent themes
across all interviews.

Implications
Educators must recognize that academic studies and co-curricular activities can
act as complementary pieces that can make a students institutional experience a
successful one. Specifically for students of color in STEM, performance in the
classroom is often all that is recognized when in fact, integrating co-curricular
involvement that may or may not be directly related to their major can be
beneficial.
A STEM student of colors identity on campus ultimately can lead back to their
sense of belonging on campus and self-efficacy within their major.
Critical areas that may contribute to sense of belonging can include counterspaces that can support students of color specifically such as cultural resource
centers; this provides students with a safe space to integrate their cultural and
scholar identities (Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000).
The students internal motivation drove them to persist.

Introduction
Limitations
The persistence and graduation rates of students of color in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based fields is significantly lower than that of
their White and Asian counterparts. While studies predominantly focus on the numbers
of students and racial breakdowns of these students studying STEM, not many focus
on the student experience or programs implemented to assist in student graduation.

Results

A developing interest into these experiences for underrepresented student populations

among STEM fields has served as the foundation for a deeper understanding about
students of color within STEM. This study attempts to uncover commonalities among
third and fourth year students of color that ultimately drive them towards graduation in
order to assist faculty members and student affairs professionals in supporting future
students within these majors.

Literature Review
Although undergraduate students interest in STEM majors has increased, the rates at
which they were receiving undergraduate degrees in these disciplines were low
especially among students of color (Eagan et al., 2013).
Research suggested that when institutions had a campus climate that promoted
achievement within diverse groups, students in STEM were committed and obtained
leadership opportunities that promoted their success (Hurtado, Newman, Tran, & Chang,
2010; Museus & Liverman, 2010; Whittaker & Montgomery, 2012; Xu, 2016).
Internal confidence and motivation originated from pre-college factors such as parents
level of education and college preparatory courses (Melguizo & Wolniak, 2011).
Faculty can serve as academic resources in and out of the classroom environment,
being role models and mentors for students success and persistence (Chang,
Sharkness, Hurtado, & Newman, 2014; Griffin, Perez, Holmes, & Mayo, 2010; Griffith,
2010; Kendricks, Nedunuri, & Arment, 2013; Schwartz, 2012b; Xu, 2016).
A scholar identity may help sustain STEM aspirations for students of color through the
mentoring and hands-on aspects of undergraduate research (Espinosa, 2011; Jackson,
2013; Montgomery, Peteet, & Weekes, 2015; Ong, Wright, Espinosa, & Orfield, 2011;
Osei-Kofi & Torres, 2015; Santovec, 2011; Schwartz, 2012a; Schwartz, 2012b;
Strayhorn, 2010; Talbot, 2008; Williams, 2010).
Research suggested institutions to develop STEM programs that catered to the needs
of students of color instead of merely diversifying the student and faculty makeup
(Allen- Ramdial & Campbell, 2014; Byrd, 2013; Johnson, 2012; Whittaker & Montgomery,
2014).

The studys perspective is limited in terms of racial and ethnic makeup because
most of participants were either African American or Latino/a. There are still other
student populations such as Southeast Asian or multiracial students that struggle
as well.
The studys scope is limited because of the geographic location of the participants.
Geographically, only approximately 17% of participants were from a state other
than California and the remaining 83% were from the Southern California region.
This does not integrate fully the differing types of school systems in different
states.
The six interviewers in this study varied in interviewing style and manner.
Although the protocol and questions remained the same, it is difficult to maintain
complete consistency across interviews. This might have yielded a variety of
results between each interviewee.
There is a lack of breadth in that not all STEM majors were represented in
this study.

Recommendations
Suggestions for future research include:

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More in-depth qualitative studies on the role that co-curricular activities play for a
wider breadth of students of color in STEM.
Comparisons between students of color and the higher performing White and
Asian counterparts could give practitioners some insight as to how programs and
partnerships can be tweaked to speak to the minority discourse.
Peer mentorship between students of color in STEM and their White and Asian
counterparts.
Research should include a wide variety of participants from two-year, four-year,
private, public, and vocational schools.
Student affairs practitioners have the responsibility of examining institutional
factors to see whether or not they are properly supporting these students
development in their sense of belonging.
It is recommended that practitioners find avenues to recognize and share this
need to break the stereotype either through affirming one-on-one advising or
perhaps a mentoring program.