The academic resilience of Latinas in STEM fields
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This dissertation adds to the literature on Latinas in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Furthermore, it is one of the few studies to focus on Latinas in STEM in graduate school and in the workforce. Each of the three qualitative studies in this dissertation uses academic resilience as a framework to explore Latinas' journeys through the STEM pipeline, identifying protective factors or sources of support and the risk factors or challenges they encountered. In the first study, twenty Latina graduate students were interviewed about their experiences from early childhood through their time in graduate programs in STEM fields. The participants were master's or doctoral students at the same private elite university at the time of the interviews. The following were some of the major themes that were identified: earliest STEM experience, special teachers and mentors, community college experiences, decision to attend graduate school, familismo, graduate school faculty advisors/mentors, sense of belonging, and ethnic/cultural identity. The findings point to four potential areas for intervention. In the second study, twelve Latinas were interviewed about their academic and career trajectories in STEM fields. The participants had received their doctoral degrees or were employed in STEM fields at Research I institutions. Some of the risk factors or challenges that these women faced included: their families' gendered expectations, undocumented status, inaccessible research advisors, and cultural taxation. The protective factors or strengths and support systems that helped participants overcome these challenges included: family support, undergraduate research experiences, and access to academic mentors and diversity offices. In addition to the risk and protective factors identified, the Happenstance Learning Theory is used to describe participants' academic and career paths in STEM. The third study examined Latinas' experiences with microaggressions and discrimination in STEM fields and explored how experiences varied by skin tone and field of study. This study combined the participant samples of the first two studies and included analysis of survey data and interview responses. Survey results indicated that participants with lighter skin tones reported fewer experiences with microaggressions. In addition, women in science fields reported fewer microaggressions than the women in engineering fields. Responses to microaggressions included ignoring the events, confronting the offender, and relying upon protective factors such as external sources of support. Findings draw attention to colorism and phenotyping as barriers to success in STEM fields. Together, the three studies in this dissertation confirm previous findings about Latinas in STEM fields and identify new risk and protective factors.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Lizcano, Liza Renee |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Graduate School of Education. |
| Primary advisor | Padilla, Amado M |
| Thesis advisor | Padilla, Amado M |
| Thesis advisor | Barron, Brigid |
| Thesis advisor | Blikstein, Paulo, 1972- |
| Advisor | Barron, Brigid |
| Advisor | Blikstein, Paulo, 1972- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Liza Renee Lizcano. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Graduate School of Education. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Liza Renee Lizcano
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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