Latina English Learners’ persistence in STEM undergraduate programs: framed within the Community Cultural Wealth Model

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the challenges Latina English Learner (EL) students encounter in STEM and investigate how Latina ELs persist in these academic domains. Using an interpretive phenomenological design, we interviewed 15 Latina ELs to explore the strategies Latina ELs employ to persist through undergraduate STEM programs. We also seek to understand the cultural wealth that Latina EL students draw upon to persist in STEM programs. Major themes highlight Latina EL students using strong generational links that facilitate resiliency, taking advantage of bilingualism, having a clear career vision, prioritizing their mental and emotional health, forming strong social connections, and combatting discrimination and microaggressions. The study makes important recommendations to guide higher education institutions and STEM departments to promote diversity and inclusivity within their domains.

Keywords:

• Latinas
• English Language Learners
• persistence in STEM
• interpretive phenomenological design
• Community Cultural Wealth Model

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the feedback and comments provided by Drs. Julius Davis, Patricia Nava, and Erik Hines during the data collection and data analysis phase of this study.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation Award No. 2024584. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Qi Shi

Qi Shi is a Professor of School Counseling and the Director of the Center for Equity, Leadership, and Social Justice in Education (CELSJE) at Loyola University Maryland. Her research interests include school counselors’ role in personal, social, and academic development of underrepresented student populations in K-12 schools, broadening participation for immigrant youth and English Language Learners in STEM disciplines and careers, and school counseling profession’s development in international contexts.

Karen Phillips

Karen Phillips is the Assistant Director of Internships at the Career Education Office at Goucher College. Karen graduated from Loyola University Maryland’s School Counseling program in 2023 and worked as a research assistant on a federal funded project.

Marina Lambrinou

Marina Lambrinou is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Equity, Leadership and Social Justice in Education at Loyola University Maryland. She received her doctoral degree in Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2023 and she is currently co-leading an NSF-funded study on Latinas’ resistance behaviors in Engineering programs.