A Snapshot: The Role of Support Networks in Black Undergraduate Students' STEM Identity

• In Event: Advancing Science Identity Development in Diverse Students at the Intersection of Multiple Constructs and Contexts

Abstract

This paper discusses preliminary results from a multi-year survey of undergraduate students. The primary goal of the main study is to understand the impact of participating in a citizen science project on students’ attitudes towards science and their STEM identity. This sub-study explores the connection between the “science confidence,” a way of describing the perceived self-efficacy in science matters, of Black undergraduate students and their perceptions of the support available to them via their personal and academic networks. Science confidence is a major variable of the STEM Engagement Framework (London et al., 2011) and is known to contribute to the success of students with STEM majors (Oseguera et al., 2019; Museus et al., 2011). It is an implicit factor in how students recognize themselves as “science people,” which is a central domain of the Grounded Model of Science Identity (Carlone & Johnson, 2007). By using these two perspectives to examine science confidence we seek to shed light on the role of support networks in building science identity in Black undergraduate students.

The incorporation of citizen science in the undergraduate STEM curricula is intended to provide students with the opportunity to actively engage in the scientific process, contribute to the discovery of new evidence, and expand their knowledge about the natural world. We surveyed 263 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory, environmentally focused, science courses at a Historically Black university (HBCU) and a predominantly White university, both of which are located in the southeastern region of the United States. Surveys were administered via Qualtrics at the beginning and end of the spring 2019 and 2020 semesters. The survey questions were drawn from Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Phillips et al., 2017) and London et al., (2011). Questions were grouped into three categories--socio-demographics, science attitudes, and STEM identity.

Of the 166 students that completed both pre and post surveys, 29 self-identified as African American/Black and were included in this sub-study. Preliminary results indicated trends between self-reported science confidence and perceived support of the choice of major. The majority of students self-reported that their mother was a strong support source for their major, while their professor was not as supportive. Only two students (7%) self-reported that their mothers’ support was lower than their own science confidence. Conversely, 38% of the students self-reported that their professors’ support was lower than their own science confidence. Of these students, 73% reported high science confidence (at least 6 on a 7-point Likert scale). This is important because reduced science confidence has been cited by several studies as a primary reason students switch from STEM majors (Oseguera et al., 2019; Adedokun et al., 2013; Espinosa, 2011). The results from this study, while still preliminary, warrant deeper exploration as they may lead to a greater understanding of the support networks necessary to build greater science confidence and lasting STEM identity in Black undergraduate students. This study has implications for positioning the relationship between science confidence and personal and academic support as a building block for Black STEM identity.

Authors

• Mwenda O. Kudumu, North Carolina State University

• Porche' L. Spence, North Carolina A&T State University

• Zakiya Leggett, North Carolina A&T State University