Aquí Estamos: Latina/o/x Community College Students Developing a Sense of Belonging as eSTEMos Scholars

• In Event: Community Colleges as Sites to Foster STEM Pathways for Latina/o/x Students

Abstract

Latina/o/x students are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study (Santiago, et al., 2015). A strong sense of belonging in STEM, which is composed of perceived competence, interpersonal relationships, science identity and personal interest in the field of study, correlates with persistence rates in STEM (Garcia & Hurtado, 2011; Rainey et al., 2018). However, STEM fields were established in congruence with a competitive and individualistic culture centered on white male experiences (Carlone, 2003; Ceci & Williams, 2007), which contrasts the likely cultural upbringing that Latina/o/x students encounter (Martinez, 2013) and can influence academic grade-point-average (GPA) negatively (Cole & Espinoza, 2008). Furthermore, Latina/o/x often receive messages from peers and faculty that they do not belong in STEM undergraduate (Fries-Britt & Griffin, 2007; Malone & Barabino, 2009) and have to actively resist marginalization when enrolled in predominantly white research universities (Rodriguez & Blaney, 2020). This presentation acknowledges the intersectional systems of marginalization that Latina/o/x students confront and highlights the various practices that community college faculty and leaders can enact to foster a sense of belonging for Latina/o/x students in STEM.

This presentation is guided by a sense of belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997) and Latina/Latino critical race theory (LatCrit) (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001). Data for this presentation derives from an NSF S-STEM grant funded study that is a collaboration between four community colleges and a four-year university, all Hispanic Serving Institutions. The presentation focused on analyzing data from semi-structured interviews with 22 Latina/o/x students in the eSTEMos Scholarship Program who are preparing to transfer or transferred to a four-year college. Data analysis consisted of initial coding followed by values coding (Saldaña, 2015), guided by the research questions and selective coding to group the process codes into summative categories (Lincoln & Guba, 1985), which were developed into themes.

Findings explain that despite experiencing microaggressions (Perez Huber & Solorzano 2021), self-doubt, and challenges due to intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1990), students developed a sense of belonging in STEM with the support of structures in place at the community colleges. Findings highlight that a sense of belonging was developed through five interconnected elements. They included: welcoming spaces, merit-based equitable scholarships, validating faculty guidance, STEM research internships, and leveraging graduate school pathways. The more elements present, the stronger the sense of belonging.

Scholarly Significance.
While more recent research focuses on the experiences of Latina/o/x students in STEM at four-year colleges (see: Abrica, et al., 2020; Rodriguez & Blaney, 2020) this study contributes to the field by examining the experiences of students in the community college sector specifically. Given that such a large percentage of Latina/o/x students who pursue STEM begin at the community college, this presentation highlights the importance of faculty collaboration between community colleges and four-year colleges from an asset-based perspective. Without the collaborative efforts required to receive the NSF grant, students would not have had access to the mentoring practices, paid research internships, and merit-based equitable scholarships, which supported the students developing a sense of belonging.

Author

• Nancy Acevedo, California State University - San Bernardino