Spaces of Resistance: Latinas Developing Science Identities in a Hispanic-Serving Community College

• In Event: Reclaiming and Negotiating Space and Identity

Abstract

This study employed a testimonio approach to explore the role of a Hispanic-serving community college in the development of science identity among Latinas pursuing vertical transfer science pathways. Data were collected through writing prompts, individual interviews, and focus groups. Participants positioned the Hispanic-serving community college as a space of resistance, where they found allies who recognized them as science people, helped them leverage and build various types of capital, and encouraged them to interrogate Eurocentric notions of science and being a science person. These findings underscore the need to broaden our communal research scope, unpacking how Hispanic-serving community colleges can support Latinas and other Women of Color in cultivating robust science identities.

Authors

• Julieth P. Diaz Benitez, College of San Mateo

• Alysia D. Roehrig, Florida State University