Spaces as buffers: A spatial analysis of Black undergraduate STEM student experiences

• In Event: Placing Blackness: An exploration of Black STEM students’ connections to place identity

Abstract

Purpose: This paper explores Black undergraduate students’ spatial storylines (Germinaro & Nickson, 2024) in STEM, noting the role place has on their STEM experiences.
Framework: We draw from Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST; Spencer, 2008) to explore Black students’ STEM spatial storylines that correspond with different spaces in their institution. PVEST provides the mechanism for unpacking how Black students’ identities inform their perceptions, experiences, and responses to their STEM spaces within their institution (Morton, 2021).
Methodology: Data for this study comes from a subsection of a National Mosaic Ethnographic Study of Blackness in STEM in the U.S. 125 Black undergraduate STEM students studying at various institutions in the Southwest US were organized into focus groups that were arranged by a combination of varying identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, generational status to the U.S., gender, etc.). Additional data include researcher observations and institutional artifacts. Data was analyzed using a descriptive coding process, and codes dealing with place were extracted for further analysis, and when combined with research literature, produced themes.
Results: Preliminary findings reveal distinctions in students’ storylines that correspond with different layers of the institutional ecosystem. Students attending institutions located within a city that has a high concentration of Black people or an HBCU find the city (macro) and university’s overall culture and context (exosystem) to be supportive and engaging while their STEM majors (meso) and leaning spaces (micro) perpetuate hostility. Students perceive the macro and exosystems as buffers for the challenges faced within the majors:
being a computer science major in [pseudonym], is a little different from like other PWI, just because [pseudonym] City in general is a little more diverse. So, like, as a result, a lot of my classes, I didn't end up being the only Black person or the only Black woman like in my classes, or in my projects, or things like that. So, seeing that was like kind of a refresher” (Participant 1).
I actually transferred from HBCU to a PWI, and it was a very big difference, especially like in the classrooms. And I feel like that's one of the main reasons why I decided to pick up of African American studies minors, because it's like there has been several times where I was the only Black female, or just a Black person in a STEM class, and sometimes it can be a little intimidating when you're the only Black person there, and especially when you're like asking for help, I feel like I have to like advocate more for myself when I need help on trying to understand anything in the class. (Participant 2)

Scholarly Significance: The geopolitical contexts of universities shape Black students’ STEM experiences, which in turn shape their decisions and outcomes. Attending to differences in experiences and outcomes that correspond to place is needed to ensure all students are properly served by their institution. As national, local, and institutional politics change, understanding how these changes can impact Black students is necessary.

Authors

• Tia C. Madkins, The University of Texas at Austin

• Terrell R Morton, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Yasmiyn Irizarry, University of Texas at Austin

• Nkasano R. Fullerton, University of Texas at Austin