Opening up STEMM pathways among Indigenous people in the U.S.: what is the role of cultural, spiritual, and ethical conflicts in Indigenous people's STEMM educational and career decisions?

Figures & data

Figure 1. The percent of AI/AN students in the United States earning STEM degrees between 2008 and 2014 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016).

Table 1. Descriptive characteristics among Indigenous STEMM students and professionals, 2019.

	Students n=203		Professionals n=206
	N	%	N	%
STEMM Discipline/Field
Life sciences	45	22.2	47	22.8
Physical sciences	22	10.8	24	11.7
Engineering	33	16.3	45	21.8
Mathematics	31	15.3	21	10.2
Computer sciences	12	5.9	21	10.2
Health sciences	55	27.1	36	17.5
Other	5	2.5	12	5.8
Age
18–22 years	97	47.8	7	3.4
23–29 years	82	40.4	44	21.4
30–40 years	22	10.8	103	50.0
41–50 years	2	1.00	41	19.9
>50 years	0		11	5.3
Gender
Male	82	40.4	116	56.3
Female	116	57.1	90	43.7
Other	5	2.5	0
Education level
Some college, no degree completed yet	102	50.3	11	5.3
Associate degree	20	9.9	18	8.7
Bachelor's degree	55	27.1	112	54.4
Master's degree	22	10.8	53	25.7
Professional or terminal degree	0		11	5.3
Other	4	2.0	1	0.5
Where participants grew up
Urban	39	19.2	47	22.8
Suburban	44	21.7	34	16.5
Rural	70	34.5	67	32.5
Reservation	49	24.1	57	27.7
Other	1	0.5	1	0.5
Where participants currently live
Urban	102	50.3	110	53.4
Suburban	53	26.1	63	30.6
Rural	25	12.3	13	6.3
Reservation	22	10.8	18	8.7
Other	1	0.5	2	1.0

Table 2. Perspectives of Cultural, Spiritual, and Ethical Considerations in STEMM among Indigenous STEMM students and professionals, 2019.

Cultural consideration	Students n=203	Professionals N=206
	N (%)
Have your career decisions been at all influenced by cultural, spiritual, and/or ethical considerations?
Yes	106 (57.6)	120 (60.9)
No	73 (39.7)	77 (39.1)
Other	5 (2.7)	0
Missing	19	9
Do you think some Indigenous people in STEMM professional roles have unique cultural, ethical, and/or spiritual concerns or issues to consider?
Yes	141 (76.6)	144 (73.1)
No	38 (20.7)	52 (26.4)
Other	5 (2.7)	1 (0.5)
Missing	19	9
Do you think being an American Indian/Alaska Native creates advantages or disadvantages in STEMM careers?
Advantages	23 (12.5)	29 (14.7)
Disadvantages	33 (17.9)	26 (13.2)
Both	95 (51.6)	123 (62.4)
Neither	23 (12.5)	11 (5.6)
Not sure	10 (5.4)	8 (4.1)
Missing	19	9

Abbreviations: Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine/health (STEMM).

Note: Percentages represent column percentages (percentage of total responses within a STEMM discipline).

Table 3. Level of agreement on a Likert Scale of cultural, spiritual, and ethical impact in STEMM fields among Indigenous STEMM students and professionals, 2019.

Likert statement	Students n=203		Professionals n=206
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
My cultural identity impacted my choice of majors in college	3.5	1.2	3.4	1.1
My tribal affiliation impacted my choice of majors in college	3.1	1.0	3.2	1.1
My cultural identity has impacted some of my career decisions	3.7	1.1	3.5	1.1
My tribal affiliation could impact some of my career decisions	3.7	1.0	3.5	1.1
I think American Indian/Alaska Native people in STEMM fields have unique cultural, spiritual, and/or ethical issues to consider	4.1	0.9	3.9	1.0
I know at least one Indigenous person (besides myself) whose cultural identity had some impact on their choice of STEMM majors/careers	3.8	1.1	3.7	1.0
Indigenous people interested in STEMM majors/careers have different influences on their professional decisions than non-Indigenous people	3.8	0.9	3.7	1.0
Indigenous people in STEMM majors/careers have to set aside some of their cultural, ethical, and/or spiritual beliefs in order to succeed in their career	3.5	1.1	3.3	1.1
Indigenous people in STEMM majors/careers can’t always do what is expected in their classes/profession because of cultural, ethical, and/or spiritual beliefs	3.4	1.1	3.1	1.1
Cultural, ethical, and/or spiritual perspectives put some Indigenous people at a disadvantage in STEMM majors/careers	3.2	1.1	3.2	1.1
Cultural, ethical, and/or spiritual perspectives can give some Indigenous people an advantage in STEMM majors/careers	3.5	1.0	3.5	1.0

Abbreviations: Standard deviation (SD); Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine/health (STEMM).

Note: Likert scale level of agreement 1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Somewhat Disagree; 3 = Neither Agree or Disagree; 4 = Somewhat Agree; 5 = Strongly Agree.

National Center for Education Statistics, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2016). Degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions in selected professional fields, by race/ethnicity and field of study: 2013-14 and 2014-15. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_324.55.asp

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