Complex Cultural Identities and Stereotype Threat in Engineering: A Person-Oriented Study

• In Event: Critical Perspectives on Motivation in Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Students

Abstract

It is important to examine identity processes in educational settings, especially those situated in racialized and gendered experiences, as perceptions about one’s environment can lead students to develop adaptive or maladaptive beliefs about “who they are.” As such, examining stereotype threat, in combination with multiple identities, can help address how to support engineering persistence and achievement. We used a person-oriented approach to examine complex identities and stereotype threat in relation to engineering persistence and achievement. Quantitative data were collected from (N = 170) Black engineering students. We found three unique profiles, including Low Engineering and Moderate Ethnicity (Class 1), Moderate High Identity and Low Gender (Class 2), and High Identity and Stereotype Threat (Class 3).

Authors

• Amalia Krystal Lira, Michigan State University

• S. Patrick Walton, Michigan State University

• Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia, Michigan State University