The representation and advancement of minoritized groups in science is constrained by the white, cisheteropatriarchal culture of science. Although there are initiatives to improve the representation of minoritized communities in STEM, much of this effort focuses on achieving racial or ethnic diversity rather than recognizing students’ cultural capital (i.e., the knowledge, skills, abilities, and networks that racially minoritized communities use to resist oppression). To understand how students learn science, we need to understand how students engage with science and how the culture of science influences their identity development. This study aims to understand how Latine undergraduate students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) develop science identities and how racialized experiences may influence this formation. In this study we use a critical epistemological perspective, multiple theories of identity, and qualitative research methods to build a theoretical framework and describe the lived experiences of our participants (testimonialistas). We facilitated eighteen testimonios (i.e., a critical counter-narrative interview methodology) with Latine science majors at three HSIs in the southwestern United States. The testimonios were deductively and inductively coded and analyzed using two coding schemes developed for the theories of science/chemistry identity and racialized identity. Our analyses indicate that the testimonialistas use various racialized identity resources and center familismo (i.e., a Latine cultural practice that emphasizes the importance of family support, loyalty, and honor) to negotiate the formation of their science identities and resist systemic oppression. Specifically, the testimonialistas have complex interactions with relational resources that influence their positioning within science and science identity formation. The results of this study provide insights into how Latine students engage with the culture of science and advance our understanding of how to best support Latine students throughout their education. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the need for more Latine instructors and culturally responsive curricula in higher education.

Ginger Szymczak Shultz

University of Michigan

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