Unexamined Dimensions of Latino STEM Stratification: Race, Religion, and STEM Outcomes

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Outcomes, Culture, and Leadership (Table 19)

Abstract

Studies of religion’s impact on science education focus on white conservative Protestants, yet few studies consider variation by race and ethnicity. Using data from a large, majority Latino, urban school district in Texas and interviews with Latinos at three congregations, this study examines the extent to which Latino religious affiliation and participation shapes STEM course-taking patterns. Latino Pentecostal, evangelical, and Catholic students take significantly fewer STEM college-level courses compared to Latinos with no religious affiliation. Moreover, lower levels of engagement with science in students’ religious congregations may be tied to lower levels of engagement in STEM education. This study suggests avenues for considering the intersection between students’ race and religious commitments and increasing Latino STEM participation.

Author

• Esmeralda S. Salazar, Pennsylvania State University