Resiliency: A Unique and Dynamic Form of Cultural Engagement

• In Event: Science for All: Challenges, Practices, and Spaces of Possibility for Creating Inclusive Science Learning Environments

Abstract

With the pressing demand for individuals with STEM degrees, it is important to consider the trajectories of successful Latinas. This study helps us understand the complexity of Latinas’ educational success. Using a sociocultural theoretical framework, we promote not only learning from successful Latinas, but also uncovering their resiliency and the unique contributing factors from an individual and collective basis. Specifically, resiliency is constituted across aggregations of present and future sociopolitical, contextual, and historical positionings. Our emergent approach is guided by the following research question: How do Latinas understand, shape, and enact resiliency to become successful and sustain their success along the continuum of the STEM pipeline?

Authors

• Alejandro J. Gallard, Georgia Southern University

• Wesley B Pitts, Lehman College - CUNY

• Dr. Lorena Claeys, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Belinda Bustos Flores, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Katie Brkich, Georgia Southern University

• Alma Stevenson, Georgia Southern University