Latinas Resistance Behaviors in Engineering Programs at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs): An Intersectional View

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Latinas’ experiences in engineering programs can be unique due to the multiple layers of challenges and assets in their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) journey: being a woman, being Latinx, being a bilingual speaker of Spanish and English. The disparities in Latinas’ engineering access and attainment are the result of historically oppressive racist and sexist structures embedded in STEM space that perpetuate sexism and racism. However, there is limited research on the nuanced experiences of how Latinas resist inequities in different STEM educational settings and how they succeed. Another major shortcoming of the current literature on Latinx STEM education is that they are mostly viewed from a deficit perspective. This project aims to investigate how Latinas choose to engage in various resistance behaviors in different engineering cultures and campus climates and how these different cultures and campus climates influence their resistance. This project uses an anti-deficit view to interpret and make meaning of the experiences and assets that may have impacted Latinas’ resistance and persistence in engineering programs. Findings from this study can be used to develop inclusive policies and counseling strategies to broaden the participation of Latinas and increase theirpersistence in STEM at both Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Guided by a combination of LatCrit theory of resistance, intersectionality, and Cultural Wealth Model (CWM), the goal of this project is to investigate how Latinas choose to engage in various resistance behaviors in different engineering cultures and campus climates and how these different STEM cultures and campus climates influence their resistance. Specific research questions include: (1) How do Latinas engage in different resistance behaviors in undergraduate engineering programs? (2) How do different engineering cultures and campus climates at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) influence Latinas’ resistance behaviors in engineering programs? and (3) How do Latinas’ intersectional identities and their cultural wealth influence their resistance behaviors in different engineering cultures and campus climates? Using an interpretive phenomenological design, this project will conduct individual interviews with Latina students and qualitative surveys with faculty members and administrators from three PWIs and three HSIs in California, Florida, and Texas. Expected findings include more nuanced information about Latinas’ resistance behaviors in engineering programs at PWIs and HSIs. Through sharing finding reports with participating institutions and broader STEM and Latinx communities, this study will provide needed information to promote Latinas’ access and persistence in engineering programs. PWIs and HSIs could utilize the findings from this study to develop retention and recruitment policies and practices to broaden the participation and promote equity and inclusion for underrepresented minority students majoring in engineering and entering STEM careers.This project is supported by NSF's EDUCore Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.