Counter-Spaces as Sites of Fostering and Amplifying Community College Latinas' Resistance Narratives in STEM

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

Abstract

With increasing attention on issues of equity and diversity in the STEM disciplines, there is growing evidence to suggest that community colleges are a major pathway through which minoritized students enter postsecondary STEM education and the workforce (NASEM, 2016; Wang, 2020). However, relatively few studies have examined the experiences of Latinas with community college STEM education experiences, using an explicitly intersectional lens and in ways that emphasize and celebrate their agency. Additionally, the role of counterspaces, or academic and social safe spaces that provide support and collegiality among minoritized students (Ong et al., 2018; Solórzano et al., 2000), in relation to how Latinas make sense of their experiences in STEM, is underexplored. The research question guiding this study was: what role does a STEM counterspace play in how community college Latinas produce their resistance narratives?

I employed an intersectional feminist perspective (Cho et al., 2013; Crenshaw, 1989) combined with an asset-based approach (Gonzalez et al., 2020; Harper, 2010) to examine the narratives of three Latinas affiliated with one STEM support program housed within a community college in California. In addition to the simultaneous analysis of multiple experiences of marginalization, an intersectional perspective allows for an understanding of power dynamics that shape the experiences of marginalization. This perspective is well-aligned with asset-based approaches, which do not take the existing arrangement of power for granted (by attempting to “fix” individuals) and instead, recognize the power of individual assets that can transform the oppressive system.

Data for this study comes from a larger study of 12 women of color. Three representative participants, all of whom identified as Latina, were chosen to cover the breadth of experiences that women of color with community college STEM education backgrounds encounter. Two narrative interviews were conducted with each participant. I also engaged in a 17-month period of participant observation while being embedded in the STEM support program. Interview transcripts as well as fieldnotes and memos were analyzed iteratively and holistically with input from participants during member checking.

The three Latinas’ narratives showcased how these women made sense of, and pushed back against, oppression and marginalization in STEM in three different, yet interrelated, ways: (1) by connecting to something greater than oneself, (2) by taking action with the support of others, and (3) by redefining one’s identity and goals. Within each of these three resistance narratives, the Latinas credited the STEM support program as a counterspace that provided them with instrumental (e.g., introduction to internship opportunities) and emotional (e.g., celebration of successes) support. This counterspace contributed to the Latinas’ ability to envision and enact an empowered version of themselves as revealed in their resistance narratives.

Findings from this study point to the need to recognize, support, and expand the work of similar counterspaces so that they can foster and amplify the resistance of individual students. Rather than being relegated to the margins as supporting “special” populations, such spaces and their work should be centered. They enable critical collective action that can transform the broader system of STEM education.

Author

• Yoon Ha Choi, Florida International University