Gender, Identity, and Socialization: A Sense of Belonging Among Black Female Graduate Students in STEM

• In Event: Gender, Identity, and Race: Examining Black Females' Sense of Belonging in Secondary and Postsecondary Contexts

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore ways in which Black female graduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) manage multiple identities, belonging, and persistence while attending a Historically Black institution (HBI). According to Bertrand-Jones, Wilder, & Osborne-Lampkin (2013), multiple identities, including race and gender, that exist for Black females intersect in ways that need acknowledgement during the socialization process. This study revealed the impact of identity and social belonging within a graduate social context and its impact on STEM achievement.

The framework used in this study was Jones and McEwen’s (2000) conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity, which underscores the importance of acknowledging an individual’s multiple identities, the intersections of these identities, and how the development of these identity dimensions are influenced by social and cultural contextual factors. Additionally, Black feminist framework (Collins, 2000) is used to inform the reader and analyze the results of the research by placing women and their experiences at the core of the analyses.

A qualitative approach was used due to the dearth of research on the subject of graduate education at a Historically Black institution. By employing a qualitative approach to examine multiple identities and socialization, the researcher acknowledges the social structures inherent in STEM disciplines (Davis, 2008). Qualitative methodology also allows for the identification of unanticipated phenomena (Maxwell, 1996) and facilitates a better understanding of the findings. Data was gathered through group interviews, personal interviews, and observation field notes, and a brief questionnaire were used to capture demographic data. In order to develop the coding architecture, each transcript was open coded by examining the raw data and coding for salient categories supported by the text. This allowed for the identification of unanticipated phenomena and influences (Maxwell, 1996) and facilitated a better understanding in what was largely an exploratory study (Creswell, 2003).

Four thematic categories that emerged embody the Black feminist framework (Collins, 2000) and the multiple dimensions of identity framework (Jones & McEwen, 2000) by capturing the participants’ experiences as Black graduate females in STEM. The findings are examples of how participants made sense of their experiences across a range of contexts. For example, one finding revealed how identities such as race, gender, and academic ability caused academic marginalization and negative stereotypes among students and faculty. The findings also confirm Gardner’s (2009) work whereby a sense of belonging is closely related to social functioning and identity constructs.

Scholars who engage in research that focuses on race, gender and education could discover strategies to understand identity formations and socialization mechanisms that allow Black female students to persist in STEM. Specifically students at the graduate level as they could offer insight regarding key experiences that permitted them to persist through graduate education. Identifying the priming stimuli and mechanisms underlying the intersection of race, gender, and belonging is only useful if it provides insight into possible approaches to understanding and minimizing the effects of social marginalization.

Author

• Andrea L. Tyler, Tennessee State University