Multiple Consciousnesses: Investigating The Identities (Academic, Gender, Race and Disability) Of Black Women Undergraduate Students In STEM And Their Impact On Persistence

历史上的黑人学院和大学-本科项目支持研究项目，旨在研究影响非洲裔美国学生在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）本科教育中的差异参与和毕业率的潜在问题。霍华德大学的这个奖项是由EHR核心研究（ECR）项目共同资助的，特别是残疾教育领域的ECR研究。ECR强调在STEM领域产生基础知识的基础教育研究。霍华德大学与其他三所历史上的黑人大学——摩根州立大学、汉普顿大学和Prairie View A & M大学——合作，对STEM专业的黑人女性本科生进行了一项大规模的实证研究。该项目的总体目标是调查他们现有身份（性别、种族和残疾）与他们作为STEM学生在获得学位的过程中获得的身份之间的交集，以及这种交集对他们的参与、保留和成功的影响。该项目由评估人员和外部咨询委员会指导。几十年来，研究人员一直在研究与扩大STEM中代表性不足的个人的参与、保留和成功有关的问题。然而，关于黑人女性的数据有限，随着时间的推移，她们在可用人才库中所占的比例越来越大。过去对STEM中女性和黑人的研究并没有关注种族、性别和残疾的身份。黑人和女性的身份对学生达到学位目标和在STEM职业中取得成功的途径产生了独特的影响。该研究将调查现有身份（性别、种族和残疾）与他们作为STEM学生获得的学术身份的交叉性的影响。研究人员将使用三角混合方法来纵向收集定性和定量数据，以了解参与者从大一到大四的观点和经历。此外，那些自认为是残疾人的参与者将被邀请参加一个半结构化的面试。将采用有目的的抽样，以确保有足够数量的残疾学生参与项目的定性数据收集。一旦数据被收集和分解，学生的教育经历在民族、种族认同、性别认同、残疾和学术专业等变量上的差异将被检验。预计，更好地了解这些妇女身份的复杂性将为包容实践提供信息，特别是在大学一级，并可能成为成功的预测因素。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program supports research projects that seek to study the underlying issues affecting the differential participation and graduation rates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate education of African American students. This award to Howard University is co-funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, specifically the ECR Research in Disabilities Education area of special interest. ECR emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Howard University has teamed with three other Historically Black Universities - Morgan State University, Hampton University, and Prairie View A & M University - to conduct a large empirical study of Black women undergraduate students in STEM. The overall goal of the project is to investigate the intersectionality of their existing identities (gender, race and disability) and the identity that they acquire as STEM students on their way to earning a degree and the impact of the intersectionality on their participation, retention and success. The project is guided by an evaluator, as well as an external advisory committee. For decades, researchers have examined the issues related to broadening the participation, retention, and success of individuals underrepresented in STEM. However, there is limited data on Black women, who over time have become an increasingly larger portion of the available talent pool. Past research on women and Blacks in STEM has not focused on the identities of race, gender and disability. The identity of being Black and female uniquely influences the pathways that students take to reach degree goals and be successful in STEM careers. The study will investigate the impacts of the intersectionality of existing identities (gender, race and disability) and the academic identity that they acquire as STEM students. The researchers will use a triangulation mixed methods approach to longitudinally collect qualitative and quantitative data to learn participants' perspectives and experiences from freshman to senior year. Additionally, those participants who self-identify as a person with disabilities will be invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Purposive sampling will be employed to ensure an adequate number of students with disabilities participate in the project's qualitative data collection. Once data are collected and disaggregated, the variance in the educational experiences of students along the variables of ethnicity, racial identity, gender identity, disability, and academic major will be examined. It is anticipated that a better understanding of the complexity of the identities of these women will inform inclusion practices, particularly at the collegiate level, and perhaps serve as a predictive element in success.