Complex Cultural Identities and Stereotype Threat: An Integrative Mixed-Methods Study

• In Event: Intersectional and Critical Approaches to Examining the Experiences and Success of Minoritized Undergraduates in STEM

Abstract

Objectives. We used a mixed method, multi-theoretical approach to understand the unique combinations of identities (ethnic/domain) and stereotype threat (gender/ethnic), and their relation to engineering persistence. This unique approach highlights intersectional identities and experiences of Black undergraduate engineering students.

Theoretical Framework. Critical Race Theory, Intersectional Identities and Identity Theory, and Stereotype Threat (ST) provided the theoretical basis for the present work. We examined ethnic identity (beliefs and attitudes about one’s ethnicity based on known membership of an ethnic group; Phinney, 1992) and ST (anxiety felt based on stereotypical judgment in a domain; Steele & Aronson, 1995) in relation to engineering persistence and achievement. These race-and-gender related constructs may positively or negatively predict STEM persistence (e.g., DeCuir-Gunby, 2020; Chemers et al., 2011), but are more complex based on intersectional identities particularly among minoritized students. The addition of students' engineering identity (Carlone & Johnson, 2007) adds further complexity given the interplay between domain identity and racialized-and-gendered experiences.

Data and Methods. We employed an explanatory mixed methods design. Quantitative data were collected from 169 Black engineering students at a PWI; qualitative data included interviews from a sub-sample of 15 students from the original data. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify patterns of ethnic and domain identities and ethnic and gender ST and investigate how these profiles predicted career intentions and GPA. Gender and year in school were modeled as predictors of profile membership. Qualitative data were collected using a structured interview protocol to investigate differences in themes based on profile membership and how themes supported/contradicted the quantitative findings. Data were analyzed within and across profiles using triangulation.

Results. LPA results indicated a 3-profile solution: Low Engineering, Gender Stereotype Threat, and Moderate Ethnic (Profile 1); Moderate-High Identities, Ethnic Stereotype Threat, and Low Gender (Profile 2); and High Identities and Stereotype Threat (Profile 3) (See Figure 1). Predictors (gender and year in school) suggested women and underclassmen were most likely to be in Profile 3. Profile membership predicted engineering career intentions, but not GPA, with students likely to be in Profiles 2 and 3 having higher career intentions than Profile 1. The qualitative interviews highlighted Black women’s’ intersectional identities, as well as salient identities such as being a student and family member. Both men and women spoke to experiences with stereotype threat and bias such as racism and discrimination. For Black men, being perceived as an aggressor or combative in engineering was discussed, and for women experiencing both gender-and-racial discrimination in engineering was a common theme. Across profiles, students felt they were “beating the odds,” suggesting a common theme of resilience and STEM persistence.

Significance. Understanding complex, intersectional identities under the guise of stereotype threat and bias inform educational praxis and engineering support systems. An important finding was the prominence of both ethnic and gender stereotype threat, as well as the presence of other biases endured by Black engineering students. Interrogation of classroom and university structures within engineering is key to combat harmful structures limiting the success of Black engineers.

Authors

• Amalia Krystal Lira, San Diego State University
  Presenting Author

• S. Patrick Walton, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daina Briedis, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author