Ethnoracial Identification and Black and Latino Students' Navigation of an Elite "Cultureless" Engineering School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Inequalities in Higher Education

Abstract

Existing research shows that black and Latinos in STEM majors encounter higher levels of identity threat than whites and Asians, which leads to lowered academic performance and persistence. However, much of this research homogenizes the experiences of blacks and Latinos in STEM and does not recognize the growing heterogeneity among this population. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 17 black and Latino engineering students at an elite private research university in the Midwest, this paper examines the meanings students attach to their ethno-racial identities, how their ethno-racial identities shape perceptions of the engineering school, and how these perceptions inform the strategies used to navigate it. This paper provides a theoretical framework, linking social identity, the institutional climate, and STEM achievement outcomes.

Author

• Anthony Johnson, Northwestern University