The Impostor Syndrome and the STEM Experience: A Case for Postgraduate Female Students in the Caribbean

• In Event: Actionizing Change With Photo and STEM Narratives From Africa and the Caribbean

Abstract

This paper uses a social-ecological lens to examine the perceptions and experiences with the impostor syndrome among ten Black female Caribbean postgraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. Using a transcendental phenomenological research design, we conducted ten one-on-one semi-structured interviews. We analyzed the transcribed interviews and developed three main themes describing participants' experiences with the impostor syndrome, the significance of relational dynamics, and how they navigate psycho-social barriers. The study's findings contribute not only to the extant literature on the impostor syndrome but also to the gap in the literature on the impostor syndrome centered on the experiences of Black women in the Caribbean.

Authors

• Marsha E. Simon, Valdosta State University

• Talia Randa Esnard, University of the West Indies - St. Augustine