Belonging in Both Worlds: International Latino/x/é Men Students Encountering Bias and Belonging in Engineering

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Examining STEM Students' Higher Education Trajectories (Table 30)

Abstract

Latino/a/x/é students, a growing demographic that diversifies the STEM talent pipeline, face unique challenges in engineering. As a result, scholars have struggled to develop theories of belonging for this population. In this work-in-progress, we present the beginnings of an empirically-derived theory sensitive to these considerations. International Latino/x/é men students are often reductively combined and racialized with U.S. domestic Latino/x/é men students, resulting in essentialization and erasure. Current frameworks ignore Latino/a/x/é international students’ transnational connections and lack of institutionalized support. We apply abductive analysis techniques, EYES theorization, and transnational migration theory to five international Latino/x/é men engineering student interviews. We suggest that sociohistorical context and migration intentions are important for this under-theorized population.

Authors

• Kevin J. Kaufman-Ortiz, Purdue University

• Charlie Diaz, University of Pittsburgh

• Maricela Banuelos, University of California - Irvine

• Carlie Laton Cooper, University of Georgia

• Brianna Julia Gonzalez, University of Texas - El Paso

• Gerard Dorve-Lewis, University of Pittsburgh

• Eric Trevor McChesney, University of Pittsburgh

• Bev Conrique, University of Pittsburgh

• Linda DeAngelo, University of Pittsburgh