Latinas in STEM
STEM Identity Development for Latina Students
Over the past decade, an extensive amount of scholarship and media attention has been devoted to understanding the unique educational experiences and challenges of STEM students, however, few studies have explored the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender, especially in terms of STEM identity development.
Given the significant growth of the Latina/o community and that STEM is considered a racialized, gendered space, often imposing additional challenges on those who chose to be in those spaces, understanding Latina STEM college experiences, specifically, will be critical to enhancing educational experiences for the Latina STEM community and attaining the national STEM college completion goal.
This work utilizes qualitative methods to gain an in-depth understanding of how Latina high school and college students make meaning of and develop their STEM identities. Currently, this research is focused on the roles that recognition, competence, and performance play in understand STEM identity development for Latinas. Dr. Rodriguez's work in this area is also shaped by the belief that STEM identity development is inherently intersectional in nature, meaning that it is influenced by the presence and intersections of a variety of identities, such as race/ethnicity, gender, and class.
Computing Experiences for Latina Students in Introductory Computing Classes
Latina students are entering higher education at greater rates than before, yet they have disproportionately lower completion rates and career representation in computing than their peers. Latina students make up only 2% of all Bachelor’s degrees earned in computing and 5% of all women employed in computing occupations (National Science Foundation, 2016).
This mixed methods research study follows a concurrent, convergent two-phase design in which quantitative BRAID survey data is compared with qualitative BRAID interview data. This approach will enable the researchers to understand broad, national trends as well as delve deeply into the lived experiences of these students. Together, these two phases enable the researchers to more fully understand the experiences of undergraduate Latina students in computing.
This work is done in collaboration with colleagues from the BRAID Research Team at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and sponsored by the Kapor Center
Over the past decade, an extensive amount of scholarship and media attention has been devoted to understanding the unique educational experiences and challenges of STEM students, however, few studies have explored the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender, especially in terms of STEM identity development.
Given the significant growth of the Latina/o community and that STEM is considered a racialized, gendered space, often imposing additional challenges on those who chose to be in those spaces, understanding Latina STEM college experiences, specifically, will be critical to enhancing educational experiences for the Latina STEM community and attaining the national STEM college completion goal.
This work utilizes qualitative methods to gain an in-depth understanding of how Latina high school and college students make meaning of and develop their STEM identities. Currently, this research is focused on the roles that recognition, competence, and performance play in understand STEM identity development for Latinas. Dr. Rodriguez's work in this area is also shaped by the belief that STEM identity development is inherently intersectional in nature, meaning that it is influenced by the presence and intersections of a variety of identities, such as race/ethnicity, gender, and class.
Computing Experiences for Latina Students in Introductory Computing Classes
Latina students are entering higher education at greater rates than before, yet they have disproportionately lower completion rates and career representation in computing than their peers. Latina students make up only 2% of all Bachelor’s degrees earned in computing and 5% of all women employed in computing occupations (National Science Foundation, 2016).
This mixed methods research study follows a concurrent, convergent two-phase design in which quantitative BRAID survey data is compared with qualitative BRAID interview data. This approach will enable the researchers to understand broad, national trends as well as delve deeply into the lived experiences of these students. Together, these two phases enable the researchers to more fully understand the experiences of undergraduate Latina students in computing.
This work is done in collaboration with colleagues from the BRAID Research Team at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and sponsored by the Kapor Center
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Publications
Rodriguez, S. L., Lu, C., & Ramirez, D. (in press). Navigating Operating Systems: A Framework for Understanding Identity Development for Undergraduate Latina Students in Computing. In E.M. Gonzalez, F. Fernandez, & M. Wilson (Eds.), An Asset-Based Approach to Advancing Latina Students in STEM: Increasing Resilience, Participation, and Success. Research in STEM Education Series. London, UK: Routledge.
Rincon, B. & Rodriguez, S.L. (in press). Latinx Students Charting Their Own STEM Pathways: How Community Cultural Wealth Informs Their STEM Identities. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Bukoski, B., Cunningham, K., Jones, A. (in press). Critiquing Oppression and Desiring Social Justice: How Undergraduate Latinas in STEM Engage in Acts of Resistance. NASPA Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., & Blaney, J. M. (2020). “We’re the Unicorns in STEM”: Understanding How Academic and Social Experiences Influence Sense of Belonging for Latina Undergraduate Students. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Estes, R., Sissel, M., Doran, E. (2019). Becoming La Ingeniera: Examining the Engineering Identity Development of Undergraduate Latinas. Journal of Latinos in Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Pilcher, A., Garcia-Tellez, N. (2019). The Influence of Familismo on Latina STEM Identity Development. Journal of Latinos in Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Marron, T., Friedensen, R., Bartlett, M. (2019. Latina undergraduate students in STEM: The role of religion and STEM identity. Journal of College and Character.
Rodriguez, S.L., Lu, C., & Bartlett, M. (2018). Engineering identity development: A review of the higher education literature. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology. 6(3), 254-265.
Rodriguez, S. L., Lehman, K. (2018). Developing the Next Generation of Diverse Computer Scientists: The Need for Enhanced, Intersectional Computer Science Identity Theory. Computer Science Education.
Lu, C., Rodriguez, S. L. (2018). Increasing the STEM Pipeline by Strengthening Latin@ Science Identity Development. In T. Yuen, E. Bonner, M. Arreguín-Anderson (Eds.), (Under)Represented Latin@s in STEM: Increasing Participation Throughout Education and Workplace. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Rodriguez, S. L., Cunningham, K. J., Jordan, A. (2017). STEM Identity Development for Latinas: The Role of Self- and Outside Recognition. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S.L., Cunningham. K., Jordan, A. (2016). What a Scientist Looks Like: How Community Colleges Can Utilize and Enhance Science Identity Development as a Means to Improve Success for Women of Color. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 41(4-5), 232-238.
Rincon, B. & Rodriguez, S.L. (in press). Latinx Students Charting Their Own STEM Pathways: How Community Cultural Wealth Informs Their STEM Identities. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Bukoski, B., Cunningham, K., Jones, A. (in press). Critiquing Oppression and Desiring Social Justice: How Undergraduate Latinas in STEM Engage in Acts of Resistance. NASPA Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., & Blaney, J. M. (2020). “We’re the Unicorns in STEM”: Understanding How Academic and Social Experiences Influence Sense of Belonging for Latina Undergraduate Students. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Estes, R., Sissel, M., Doran, E. (2019). Becoming La Ingeniera: Examining the Engineering Identity Development of Undergraduate Latinas. Journal of Latinos in Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Pilcher, A., Garcia-Tellez, N. (2019). The Influence of Familismo on Latina STEM Identity Development. Journal of Latinos in Education.
Rodriguez, S. L., Marron, T., Friedensen, R., Bartlett, M. (2019. Latina undergraduate students in STEM: The role of religion and STEM identity. Journal of College and Character.
Rodriguez, S.L., Lu, C., & Bartlett, M. (2018). Engineering identity development: A review of the higher education literature. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology. 6(3), 254-265.
Rodriguez, S. L., Lehman, K. (2018). Developing the Next Generation of Diverse Computer Scientists: The Need for Enhanced, Intersectional Computer Science Identity Theory. Computer Science Education.
Lu, C., Rodriguez, S. L. (2018). Increasing the STEM Pipeline by Strengthening Latin@ Science Identity Development. In T. Yuen, E. Bonner, M. Arreguín-Anderson (Eds.), (Under)Represented Latin@s in STEM: Increasing Participation Throughout Education and Workplace. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Rodriguez, S. L., Cunningham, K. J., Jordan, A. (2017). STEM Identity Development for Latinas: The Role of Self- and Outside Recognition. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.
Rodriguez, S.L., Cunningham. K., Jordan, A. (2016). What a Scientist Looks Like: How Community Colleges Can Utilize and Enhance Science Identity Development as a Means to Improve Success for Women of Color. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 41(4-5), 232-238.
