Broadening Participation and Multi-Institutional Partnership: Underrepresented Minority STEM Majors and Summer Research

• In Event: Contemporary Perspectives on STEM in Black Education

Abstract

The culture of science has been situated in a meritocratic and aptitude-driven environment and underrepresented students interested in STEM have encountered stereotype threat and microaggression. Undergraduate research experiences have been identified as a practice with high impact potential. This study examines perceptions of underrepresented minority STEM majors in computer science, physics and mathematics who are participants in a 12-week summer research experience in high-energy physics. Despite retention along STEM broadening participation trajectories, the perceptions in science motivation, science self-efficacy and sense of belonging of these STEM majors while positive, still lag behind their non-URM counterparts. The extent to which the multi-institutional partnership and summer research experience in high energy physics mitigates the perceptions of URM STEM majors will be discussed.

Authors

• Monica B. Mitchell, MERAssociates

• Toks S. Fashola, American University

• Christopher Botanga, Chicago State University

• Kim Nguyen, Indiana University - IUPUI

• Sandra Charles, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory