Beyond Ethnic Identity: The Intersectional Experience of Latina/o/x Students in Engineering With Stereotype Threats (Poster 3)

• In Event: Constructing Educational Possibilities for Latin* Engineering Students: Call to Action for the Institutions and Systems That Serve Them

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the stereotype threats experienced by Latina/o/x undergraduate students in engineering programs at three universities beyond race/ethnicity and gender. The institutions include a land-grant, predominantly White institution (PWI) in the Midwest, a land-grant PWI in the Southeast, and a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the South. The data for this present study includes survey responses and interviews across the institutions. This study addressed the question: How do Latina/o/x undergraduate students in engineering programs experience intersectional identity-based stereotype threats beyond gender and race/ethnicity?

Theoretical Framework
In order to more fully explore and discuss the identities of Latina/o/x undergraduate students in engineering programs, we utilize a multilevel model of intersectionality as discussed by Núñez (2014) and applied specifically to Latina/o/x students. Specifically, Núñez called for research to analyze three different levels: social categories or relations; multiple arenas of influence; and historicity.We found Núñez’s (2014) concept of intersectionality useful for this study and to answer our research question as it considers the complexity of Latina/o/x identities and how these are shaped within individuals, in groups, and at the societal level.

Methods
This study utilizes a general qualitative approach (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) to study the sources of stereotype threats experienced by Latina/o/x undergraduate students in engineering programs at three different universities and how they cope with these threats.

Data Sources
First, a survey instrument was distributed among engineering students at the universities. While this survey did include Likert-scaled questions, this present research study focused on the open-ended questions that respondents were asked such as “Please list a stereotype you have experienced based on your ethnicity.” Then we drew from survey respondents to conduct in-depth qualitative interviews.

Results
In the surveys, the most prominent stereotypes Latina/o/x students reported were around assumptions of their language proficiency and having an accent and their academic performance. The latter includes assumptions from other students that they (the Latina/o/x students) were there because they benefited from affirmative action programs that privilege minoritized students over white students. Within the interviews, students spoke of colorism—in most cases, the way that being white-passing shielded them from dealing with the stereotypes other Latinas/os/xs might face. To deal with these stereotypes, most respondents chose to either ignore them or to channel them in order to prove others wrong.

Significance
This study focuses on a more nuanced understanding of stereotype threat as they relate to students’ skin color, countries of origins, language, and citizenship status. This adds a deeper understanding of the types of microaggressions and stereotype threats Latinx students in engineering may or may not face. Several researchers have pointed out that studies about the challenges students face in engineering have lumped students from racially minoritized backgrounds together (Camacho & Lord, 2013; Revelo & Baber, 2018). In doing so, this research failed to offer a nuanced understanding of the experiences of students from different racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Author

• Erin Doran, University of Texas - El Paso