Race, Religion, and STEM: Examining the Intersections for Black Students

这个项目将探索STEM的黑人本科生和研究生如何看待宗教和科学之间的关系，以及对他们在STEM坚持的影响。该项目具有重要意义，因为宗教和宗教社区最近被确定为许多黑人学生的重要支持来源，尽管对STEM学生来说，科学和宗教之间的二分法可能是具有挑战性的。虽然许多研究记录了以白人为主的群体中宗教和科学之间的紧张关系，但这些研究中很少有专门讨论黑人个人的观点，尽管黑人社区的宗教率历史上很高。因此，关于黑人学生关于宗教和科学之间关系的观点对参加STEM的影响，人们知之甚少。该项目将深入了解种族、宗教和STEM的交叉性，目的是提供一个更复杂和更有质感的关于促进和/或挑战黑人学生参与STEM的因素的肖像。该项目的目标是研究STEM的黑人本科生和研究生如何看待和谈判他们在学术旅程中科学和宗教之间的关系。该项目将主要侧重于外在的宗教信仰(例如，参加宗教仪式和祈祷)和内在宗教信仰(例如，包括信仰和价值观)，其次是宗教认同(包括认同宗教、精神或不认同两者，以及与宗教信仰/成员身份有关的自我概念)。指导本研究的三个理论框架是：1)科学与宗教的边界构建，2)STEM认同的形成，3)宗教联系的社会资本对STEM参与的影响。参与者将从三个传统上是白人的公立机构和一个传统上是黑人的学院和大学(HBCU)招募。在完成基线人口统计调查后，将对1)30名生物专业和30名非生物STEM专业的黑人本科生进行定性访谈；2)30名非STEM专业的黑人本科生，包括那些离开STEM的学生；以及3)30名攻读生物学位的黑人研究生和30名攻读非生物STEM学位的黑人研究生。这些访谈将询问他们对宗教和科学的看法，宗教认同和参与如何影响他们在STEM的经历，以及这些经历如何影响他们参加STEM学位课程的决定。采访将逐字转录。访谈数据将采用常量比较法进行编码和分析，并输入定性数据分析软件。交叉案例分析也将被用来比较和对比样本内的案例。与会者将有机会审阅带有引文的手稿，并要求提供反馈，以确保对其文字的分析和解释符合他们的理解和意图。该项目将通过记录宗教对STEM黑人学生生活的影响，以及非STEM专业学生对宗教和科学的看法，为STEM教育文献增加关键的基础知识，扩大代表不足的少数群体的参与。该项目得到了NSF的EHR核心研究(ECR)计划的支持。ECR计划强调基础STEM教育研究，以产生该领域的基础知识。在基本、广泛和持久的关键领域进行投资：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM的参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该计划支持积累强有力的证据，为理解、构建理论以解释并建议干预和创新来解决持续存在的问题提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will explore how Black undergraduate and graduate students in STEM view the relationship between religion and science, and the implications for their persistence in STEM. The project is of significance because religion and religious communities were recently identified as a vital source of support for many of Black students, although for STEM students the dichotomy between science and religion can be challenging. While numerous studies document perceived tensions between religion and science among predominantly white groups, very few of these studies specifically address the perspectives of Black individuals, despite historically high rates of religiosity within Black communities. Consequently, little is known about the implications of Black students’ views on the relationship between religion and science for participation in STEM. The project will shed insight into intersectionality of race, religion, and STEM with a goal of providing a more complex and textured portrait of factors that facilitate and/or challenge Black student participation in STEM.The goal of the project is to examine how Black undergraduate and graduate students in STEM view and negotiate their relationships between science and religion throughout their academic journeys. This project will primarily focus on extrinsic religiosity (e.g., participation in religious services and prayer) and intrinsic religiosity (e.g., encompassing beliefs and values), with a secondary focus on religious identity (including identification as religious, spiritual, or not identifying as either, as well as self-concept related to religious affiliation/membership). The three theoretical frameworks guiding this research are 1) boundary construction between science and religion, 2) STEM identity formation, and 3) the influence of religiously-linked social capital on participation in STEM. Participants will be recruited from three public traditionally white institutions and one historically Black college and university (HBCU). After completing a baseline demographic survey, qualitative interviews will be conducted with 1) 30 Black undergraduate students majoring in biology and 30 non-biology STEM majors; 2) 30 Black undergraduate students not majoring in STEM, including those who left STEM; and 3) 30 Black graduate students pursuing biology degrees and 30 pursuing non-biology STEM degrees. These interviews will ask about their perspectives on religion and science, how religious identity and participation have influenced experiences in STEM, and how such experiences have influenced their decisions to participate in STEM academic degree programs. The interviews will be transcribed verbatim. The interview data will be coded and analyzed using the constant-comparative method and entered qualitative data analysis software. Cross-case analysis will also be used to compare and contrast cases within the sample. Participants will be given the opportunity to review manuscripts with their quotations and asked to provide feedback to ensure the analysis and interpretation of their words is consistent with their understanding and intentions. This project will add critical foundational knowledge to the STEM education literature on broadening the participation of underrepresented minorities by documenting the influence of religion in the lives of Black students in STEM, as well as non-STEM majors’ perspectives on religion and science. This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core 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. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent.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.