Accumulating Aspirational Capital for Latinas to Pursue and Persist in Engineering Studies

• In Event: Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Hispanic Science and Other Issues

Abstract

This study, funded by the National Science Foundation, investigates the life experiences of Latinas in accumulating cultural capital, in particular aspirational capital, to contribute to their eventual enrollment in and persistence toward attaining a degree in engineering. This is important given the historical underrepresentation of female engineering graduates at 18 percent of which two percent are Latina graduates. Using qualitative methods of in-depth interviewing and life charting, we focus on how Latina engineering undergraduate students accumulate aspirational capital through familial, academic, and personal relationships. Preliminary findings suggest research participants use their aspirational capital to develop resilience and agency in the face of barriers and challenges encountered in their trajectory toward and through their engineering studies.

Authors

• Elsa Quiroz Villa, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Guillermina Gina Nunez, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Alberto Esquinca, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Elaine M. Hampton, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Luciene Soares Wandermurem, The University of Texas - El Paso