Undergraduate Courses Under-Depict the Real-World Diversity of STEM Scholars

• In Event: Critical Topics in Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

College STEM curricula that depict scholars of color, female scholars, and LGBTQ scholars could disrupt pervasive stereotypes. This may already happen in many courses; however, quantifying such depictions can be challenging because they may be spread idiosyncratically across textbooks, powerpoint presentations, and lectures. We distributed a survey to over 25,000 college instructors (final N=712) asking them to quantify depictions of marginalized scholars in their undergraduate STEM courses, and compared their responses with the demographics of recent Ph.D. recipients using data from the NCES Survey of Earned Doctorates. Findings suggest that undergraduate courses in many STEM disciplines depict significantly lower percentages of marginalized scholars than students would likely encounter if they eventually pursue doctoral degrees.

Authors

• Quentin Sedlacek, Southern Methodist University

• Sara Dozier, California State University - Long Beach

• Anthony Muro Villa, University of California - Riverside

• Michelle Friend, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Heather Haeger, University of Arizona

• Karla Lomeli, Santa Clara University

• Joel Alejandro Mejia, University of Cincinnati

• Greses Perez, Tufts University