Institutional Racism in Undergraduate STEM Education Interventions

• In Event: 4451 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 7: Discrimination and Social Reproduction

Abstract

Today’s labor market puts a premium on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) credentials, and the American higher education system has developed various programs to support graduation from undergraduate STEM majors. Educators seek solutions that increase undergraduate student access to, persistence in, and graduation from STEM majors (Rincon and George-Jackson 2016), as STEM credentials are considered an entryway in well-compensated occupations, may promote social mobility, and are important for national economic development (Museus et al. 2011, Tsui 2007). One popular strategy to increase the number of STEM graduates in higher education is the implementation of STEM Intervention Programs (SIPs). SIP curricular mechanisms aim to mitigate the common challenges students face in their undergraduate program of study in STEM, such as passing “weed out” courses and managing the academic and time demands of high-credit course-loads (Maton, Hrabowski and Schmitt 2000, Schneider, Swanson and Riegle-Crumb 1997, Wineke and Certain 1991). Such strategies include mentorship, undergraduate research opportunities, and tutoring, facilitating access to resources and supporting students throughout their pursuit of STEM majors. STEM education remains predominantly White, and additional research is needed to determine why SIPs have a decidedly mixed record when it comes to promoting the success of Black and Latinx SIP participants. This seeks to advance the literature by asking if institutional racism undermines the academic and career benefits of racial-ethnic minority SIP participants. SIPs may not support the creation of a more accessible and inclusive and STEM education environment in higher education. In fact, these programs may contribute to the replication of systemic bias against racial-ethnic minorities in STEM. This project fills a critical gap in the sociological literature by employing a Critical Race Theory perspective to investigate how institutional racism is replicated in STEM education, specifically the administration and implementation of undergraduate interventions targeting racial-ethnic minority STEM majors.

Author

• Emily Daina Saras, Florida State University