GSE/RES. Supportive Communities: How Gender Impacts the Native American Experience in STEM Fields.

本研究将调查美国土著男性和女性如何在文化期望和社会支持结构方面存在差异，以坚持STEM（科学技术、工程和数学）学科。研究人员假设，印第安人的文化角色可能会与感知到的性别角色交叉，从而增强或削弱学生的能力。美国对STEM学科的坚持。此外，该研究基于一种假设，即美国原住民男性和女性在大学环境中与正式和非正式支持结构的互动存在差异，并且可能受益于追求STEM职业的不同具体干预措施。该项目有两个目标：目标1：调查美国原住民男性和女性的性别经历如何影响他们对STEM学科的坚持。目标2：调查具体的正式和非正式支持结构如何在STEM学科中对美洲原住民男性和美洲原住民女性产生差异。该研究将跟踪蒙大拿州立大学和北亚利桑那大学两所大学STEM专业的240名美国原住民男女，并对其中至少60名学生进行深入访谈。研究人员将研究社会支持结构、非正式学术支持结构和正式学术支持计划的性别差异影响，以及这些学生在STEM中的持久性，目的是确定导致美国原住民学生坚持STEM的具体结构。本研究采用混合方法，纵向定量分析方法，使用有效的工具，定性分析开放式调查回应和深入访谈。更广泛的影响美国学生在高等教育中的代表性不足，尤其是在科学和工程领域。印第安人占大学适龄学生的1.6%，但获得大学学位的人数不到1%，获得科学和工程学士学位的人数约为0.7%。此外，在教育环境中，美国原住民学生的构成也存在性别差异。自1994年以来，进入大学的印第安学生人数的增加似乎主要是由于印第安妇女入学率的增加。因此，研究性别对美洲原住民学生成功的影响至关重要；既与与性别相关的主流文化期望有关，也与可能源于传统土著文化的性别期望有关。该研究将确定对美洲原住民男性重要的特定社会和学术支持结构。男人和女人？并期望向学术机构提出具体的、数据驱动的建议，为这些学科的本土学生提供更公平的学习环境。该奖项由EPSCoR和科学与工程项目中的性别研究共同资助。

INTELLECTUAL MERITThis study will investigate how Native American men and women differentially negotiate cultural expectations as well as social support structures to persist in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. The researchers hypothesize that Native American cultural roles may intersect with perceived gender roles to either enhance or undermine student?s persistence in STEM disciplines. Further, the study is based on the hypothesis that Native American men and women differentially interact with formal and informal support structures in a university setting and may benefit from different specific interventions in pursuing STEM careers.The project has two aims:Aim 1: Investigate how the gendered experiences of Native American men and women influence their persistence in STEM disciplines.Aim 2: Investigate how specific formal and informal support structures differentially benefit Native American men and Native American women in STEM disciplines.The study will follow 240 total Native American men and women in STEM majors at 2 institutions, Montana State University and Northern Arizona University, and perform in-depth interviews with at least 60 of these students. Researchers will examine the differential impact across gender of social support structures, informal academic support structures, and formal academic support program and of the persistence of these students in STEM, with the goal of identifying the specific structures that lead to Native American student persistence in STEM. The study utilizes a mixed-method, longitudinal approach of quantitative analysis using well-validated instruments, and qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses and in-depth interviews.BROADER IMPACTSNative American students are underrepresented in higher education, particularly in science and engineering. Native Americans represent 1.6% of college-age students, but are awarded less than 1% of college degrees, and only about 0.7% of science and engineering bachelor degrees. Additionally, there is a gender disparity in the makeup of Native American students in educational settings. Since 1994, the increase in Native American students entering college appears to be due mostly to the increased enrollment of Native American women. It is therefore critical to study impact of gender on Native American student success; both in relationship to mainstream cultural expectations associated with gender as well as gendered expectations that may stem from traditional Native cultures. The study will identify specific social and academic support structures important for Native American men?s and women?s persistence in STEM, and expect to make concrete, data-driven recommendations to academic institutions that lead to more equitable learning environments for Native students in these disciplines.This award is co-funded by the EPSCoR and the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering programs.