PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

这项计划中的研究调查了黑人和拉丁裔物理学和数学高级本科生的生活和经历。具体地说，这位研究员将研究60名STEM黑人和拉丁裔高级大学生的经历以及学术和职业决定，他们有望在这些领域实现自己的抱负。她还将采访一小部分高加索学生，以确定她对黑人和拉丁裔学生的发现是否对这些人群是独一无二的。研究人员将比较代表不足(URM)学生和高加索学生的反应和随时间变化的模式。这位研究员假设，物理和数学学士学位后教育多样性的缓慢改善是学生主动决定不继续研究生教育、对研究生教育的准备不足和知识不足、性别和种族刻板印象的复杂组合。这位研究员还将研究这一假设是否适用于来自两个不同种族群体的女性和男性。另一种假设是，许多学生渴望并积极寻求物理或数学方面的研究生教育，但由于各种原因未能成功。这项计划中的研究将揭示学生在学业和职业决定中的思维，以及这些决定是如何被先前的、有时被种族主义的经历塑造的。两种不同的解释框架将被用来研究这些学生的毕业后教育或职业决定过程。社会认知职业理论(SCCT)旨在解释a)学业和职业兴趣的发展，b)教育和职业选择，c)学业和职业成功的过程。SCCT可以帮助解释学生的自我效能感信念、教育或专业结果预期、态度和自我概念，这些因素反过来影响动机、选择和行为。这项研究的第二个主要视角是刻板印象威胁现象，以及该研究员的论文研究《刻板印象管理》导致的另一个现象。智力上的功绩。这项研究将带来社会科学、人的发展以及科学和数学教育的不同视角。这位研究员将专注于社会、心理和个人因素，这些因素导致URM在科学和数学领域取得最佳或不利的成功。这项研究将建立在其他学者正在进行的关于年轻生物医学科学家职业决策过程的研究的基础上，并将其显著扩展。这位同事将使用她导师精心开发和试点测试的部分面试方案，她已经将其扩展到更深层次的种族和性别刻板印象。计划中的研究有可能对现有关于种族和性别刻板印象与STEM大学生的文献做出新的理论贡献，并就如何构建STEM教育以减少刻板印象的影响并促进URM学生更大的STEM成就和享受提供实践指导。将社会认知职业理论(SCCT)和种族刻板印象框架相结合，创造了一个新的理论框架，有可能从根本上改变我们对URM学生如何以及为什么选择留在STEM渠道的理解，这反过来又可以导致针对这些学生留在STEM并实现其全部潜力的新解决方案或补救措施。在过去的六年里，PI的研究和教学机会使她有机会为STEM教育(特别是数学和工程教育)中的新兴文学做出贡献。她博士后导师的指导，加上西北大学优秀的设施和资源，应该会提供丰富的研究经验。

The planned study investigates the lives and experiences of Black and Latino physical science and mathematics advanced undergraduate students. Specifically, the Fellow will examine the experiences and academic and career decisions of 60 STEM Black and Latino advanced college students, who are expected to realize their ambitions in those fields. She will also interview a small sample of Caucasian students to determine if what she discovers for Black and Latino students is unique for those populations. Comparisons will be made of both the responses and the pattern of change over time of underrepresented (URM) and Caucasian students.The Fellow hypothesizes that the slow rate of improvement in the diversity in physical science and mathematics post baccalaureate education is a complex blend of active decisions on the part of students not to pursue graduate education, insufficient preparation and knowledge of graduate education, gender, and racial stereotypes. The Fellow will also look to see if this assumption holds for women and men from two different racial groups. The alternative hypothesis is that many students desire and actively seek a graduate education in the physical sciences or mathematics but are unsuccessful for various reasons. The planned research would reveal the thinking that goes into students' academic and career decisions and how those decisions have been shaped by prior, sometimes racialized, experiences.Two different interpretative frames will be used to study the post baccalaureate education or career decision processes of these students. Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) aims to explain the process through which a) academic and career interests develop, b) educational and career choices are made and c) academic and career success is attained. SCCT could help explain students' self-efficacy beliefs, educational or professional outcome expectations, attitudes and self concepts which in turn affect motivation, choices and behaviors. The second major lens for this research is the phenomenon of stereotype threat and another phenomenon that resulted from the Fellow's dissertation research entitled "Stereotype Management". Intellectual Merit. The research will bring in the diverse perspectives of social science, human development, and science and mathematics education. The Fellow will focus on the social, psychological, and individual factors that lead to optimal or impaired success of URMs in science and mathematics. The research will build upon and significantly extend the ongoing studies of other scholars on the career decision-making processes of young biomedical scientists. The Fellow will be using portions of her mentors' well-developed and pilot-tested interview protocol, which she has expanded to go deeper into racial and gender stereotypes.Broader Impacts. The planned research has the potential to make novel theoretical contributions to the existing literature on racial and gender stereotypes and STEM college students, as well as provide practical guidance about how STEM education might be structured to reduce the impact of stereotypes and facilitate greater STEM achievement and enjoyment for URM students. Blending Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and racial stereotypes frameworks creates a new theoretical frame that has the potential to radically change our understanding of how and why URM students choose to stay or leave the STEM pipeline, which in turn can lead to new solutions or remedies targeted at keeping these students in STEM and realize their full potential. Over the past six years, the PI's research and teaching opportunities have afforded her the opportunity to contribute to an emerging literature in STEM education (particularly mathematics and engineering education). The combined guidance of her postdoctoral mentors, along with access to the outstanding facilities and resources at Northwestern University, should provide a rich research experience.