Cultural Profiles as Narrative Methodology for STEM Identity of Emerging Island-Based Scientist

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 7:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Structural Forces and Storywork: Qualitative Methodologies for Understanding Identity, Inequity, and Opportunity

Abstract

This paper presents cultural profiles as a methodological and analytical tool to trace STEM identity formation among emerging island-based scientists from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Grounded in the SEAS Islands Alliance, this study centers the lived experiences of workforce fellows through storywork and cultural studies approaches. Drawing from interviews, observations, and visual data, we analyze how racial awareness, place-based belonging, family support, and community outreach shape scientific trajectories. Findings highlight fellows’ agency in authoring science pathways rooted in cultural identity and local service. The study contributes to research-practice partnerships by advancing humanizing research methods that center community narratives and culturally grounded understandings of science in island contexts.

Authors

• Rodney K. Hopson, American University

• Manuel A. Pérez-Troncoso, PUCV-CIAE Postdoctoral Researcher

• Cecilia Noelle Vaughn-Guy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign