African American male PhD scientists and engineers: perceptions of factors that impact their persistence in STEM through a lens of Critical Race Theory
Date
2016
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This qualitative study sought to investigate the factors that impact the persistence of African American male PhD scientists and engineers in their STEM career trajectories. The lived experiences of African American male PhD scientists and engineers were examined from the mens’ perspectives. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is powerful theoretical, methodological, and epistemological tool to foreground racial inequality in education and in society. The use of CRT as the theoretical framework invited the voices of the participants. Through the use of counter-storytelling, a critical race tenet, the mens’ stories were documented. The mens’ narratives act as valuable, valid evidence or “experiential knowledge” of their endeavors in STEM. The study addressed two research questions: 1) What factors do African American male PhD scientists and engineers attribute as contributing to their persistence in their STEM career trajectories? 2) In what ways do African American male PhD scientists and engineers perceive the role of race on factors that influence persistence in their STEM career trajectories? ☐ Through purposeful sampling, 16 African American male PhDs (13 scientists, 3 engineers) were recruited and interviewed. This included 32 face-to face, semi-structured interviews. The counter-stories of the men revealed five themes about the relationships and opportunities that promote persistence in STEM for African American men. The five salient themes included: 1) being respected as an African American man by members in the science community allows scientists to be productive, 2) the role of African American peer support on the persistence of African American male PhDs in STEM 3) the influence of advocacy on developing other African Americans as scientists and engineers, 4) the role of race in undergraduate and graduate school decisions, and 5) the impact of multiple undergraduate summer research experiences on the science career trajectories of African American males. ☐ CRT is used as the theoretical perspective in this study to document the factors that impact the persistence of African American male PhDs in science and engineering as valid evidence of their endeavors in STEM and to shed light on the role that race plays on their persistence. This study has implications for K-12 science communities, University STEM educators and researchers, and policy makers interested in interacting with African American males.
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Keywords
African American men, Critical RaceTheory, PhD scientists, Social justice, STEM career aspirations, STEM persistence