Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to develop a deeper understanding of the different critical components that influence Latina students' persistence in pursuing undergraduate STEM degrees at HSIs. As a qualitative case study, 10 open-ended individual interviews were conducted with Latina undergraduate college students pursuing STEM disciplines. The findings revealed that participants used strategies to help them surpass obstacles related to academic difficulties, such as finding allies in their classes and informal faculty mentors to be guided and advised. Furthermore, the involvement of family was evident to vent problems and release stress as well as the development of strong bonds with participants' fathers with STEM backgrounds. It was evident that participants developed and adopted resiliency attitudes while pursuing STEM, which highlights their cultural legacy highly influencing their persistence and academic success.
TopIntroduction
Latino/a students are a growing population in the United States (U.S.) higher education, representing 39% of all U.S. college age (18-to-24-year-old) individuals (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2019). Consequently, Latino/a enrollment in higher education has steadily increased in the last twenty years, as Latinos/as went from earning 6.5% of all degrees conferred in 2001 to 14.9% in 2019 (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities [HACU] (2021). In addition, Latinos/as earning more college degrees in community colleges and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) than any other ethnic group (HACU, 2017). HSIs are federally accredited degree-granting public and private post-secondary institutions with at least 25% or more full-time undergraduate Latinos (Excelencia in Education, 2015; HACU, 2017). Despite enrolling a high number of Latinos, HSIs struggle to serve Latinos/as due to institutions’ increasing diversity in terms of student demographics, size, structure, and governance (Garcia, 2019b). Another important aspect of the problem is the colorblind approach taken by HSIs, which lacks the prioritization of eradicating racial inequalities and consequently influences the federal and private funding used for programs and services that should benefit Latinos (Garcia, 2019a; Vargas &Villa-Palomino, 2019). Latino/a-focused curricula and Latino/a student centers are the most effective strategies that HSIs can implement to better serve the interests of Latinos/as (Vargas and Villa-Palomino (2019). Other indicators may help in better addressing the needs of Latinos/as, with a focus not only on their academic performance but also on their personal, professional, and citizenship development (Garcia, 2019b, p. 3). A transformative approach with the participation of HSI leaders should seek to support faculty, staff, and students in advocating and enacting change on behalf of Latino/as students (Garcia, 2018; Garcia, 2019b).
Given the growing enrollment of Latino/a students at HSIs in recent years and the importance of STEM graduates nationwide, there is a growing focus on supporting minority students, in particular Latinos/as, to pursue degrees in STEM fields. Particularly in Engineering, Computer Science, and Physics, college enrollment, and degree attainment are remarkably low for Latinas (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics [NCSES], 2021). In such disciplines, Latina students are considerably underrepresented; therefore, this study looks at an underexplored area concerning Latinas’ perspectives as senior STEM students who learned to succeed at HSIs. The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of different factors that influence Latina students’ persistence in pursuing undergraduate STEM degrees at HSIs. The scope of this study was to picture the positive learning experiences of an underrepresented group of senior Latina STEM college students, framed through the following research questions:
TopBackground
This review of the literature included prior research on the following aspects: Women of color (WOC) and their performance in STEM in higher education, the role of peers and faculty, Latinas as STEM students at HSIs with more specific topics on Latinas’ resilience in STEM and family role and values. Such information provided a solid background to further explore the academic performance and underrepresentation of Latinas in STEM programs at the college level.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Latino Culture: A set of traditions, costumes, and values shared by people who identify as Latinos/as and are transferred from generation to generation.
Women of Color (WOC): Women who are part of the African American, Native American, and Latino communities.
Resilience: The tenacity of Latina students to overcome barriers and use strategies to be successful.
Male-Dominated Fields: Science and technology disciplines are known to be designed for males and dominated by males.
Latino Culture Asset: A positive perception of the benefits of using/thinking/implementing aspects of the Latino culture by college students.
Latina: A woman who identifies with the Latino community, and whose roots and heritage come from a Latin American country.
Hispanic-Serving Institution: Institutions of higher education that enroll 25% or more Latino/a students.