The purpose of this study was to expose the experiences of African American female engineering students and to understand how these experiences help students construct their academic identities. In order to do this, the following research questions guided the study: what are the experiences of African American female engineering students at a traditionally white institution?; and how do these experiences lead to the construction of the academic identities of African American female engineering students? By engaging in thematic analysis, this qualitative study revealed that the experiences of African American female engineering students at traditionally white institutions centered on the following three themes: I can be creative and do math …show more content…
The categories that support each theme, tell the story of the theme. For instance, the categories that support the first theme provide an explanation as to why participants chose to study engineering. According to theme one, participants chose to study engineering because of the hands-on learning involved, the combination of math and science involved in engineering, and their enjoyment of physics. Theme two goes a step further by identifying the level of commitment participants made to engineering despite the level of difficulty associated with the field. The three categories that support this theme frame the experiences of participants as they attempt to obtain their undergraduate engineering degree. All participants reported that engineering is a difficult major; however, upon further exploration, participants attributed this difficulty to their lack of understanding of some engineering-related concepts. As a result of their lack of understanding, participants reported failing classes and having to retake them in order to obtain their engineering …show more content…
First, participants were born African American females, which is the nature perspective because it was developed from genetic forces. Participants were born African American and female and have no control over either of these genetically, predetermined factors. Further, this identity was not only recognized by participants, but by others as well. Participants had to self-identify as African-American and female in order to participate in the study and also told stories during their interview of experiences where they were the only African American female involved. Additionally, participants shared stories of others interacting with them based on their race and
In this brief report, I will be examining common practices, policies and resources that support Black women attending Princeton University. Included is a brief review of national averages in regards to higher education attainment and a rationale for continued rhetoric on this topic. My interest in this topic stem from my experience at State University’s Women Studies Program. While the conversation around gender is necessary and crucial, little attention was given to discussions of how race and gender affect an individual’s lived experience. I was constantly aware of my lack of representation among students who were in those classes and the faculty who taught.
Over the years there has been a significant decrease in the percentage of African American male success in higher education. Not only does this effect society as a whole, but more importantly this effects the African- American community as well. The high percentage of uneducated African- American males will result in increased crime rate, shortened life span and overall hard life. However this epidemic can be stopped by looking at the contributing factors of why there is a decrease in African-American male success in higher education and how to change it. Throughout the paper I will be addressing the issues as to why there are not more black men in higher education, by looking at the contributing factors such as environmental stressors, student’s perceptions, racial identity issues, academic and social integration, family upbringing and the media. The attrition rate of African- American male students could be changed and decreased drastically. Increasing our understanding of these differences would enable us to better meet the needs of young black men.
...to understand their experiences through their exposure and interactions with such incidents to foster their persistence and success in college. This research will not only help uncover the navigational strategies these women have employed to overcome oppressive barriers such as racism and sexism but also to identify the impact of these experiences on the development of their academic aspirations. The overall impact of this research is two-fold: at the macro level findings can benefit those in program and resource development to create effective programming and strategies to support women of color success in college. Along the same lines, the benefits of this research at the micro-level include promoting awareness among young women of color about the strategies that other women of color have adopted to overcome these challenges and reach their educational goals.
Today’s college students have the opportunity and freedom to choose their major and their career path. Many factors influence the decision of a college student’s career paths including background, general interests, personal strengths, time commitment, and job outlook. Although many important decisions are made in college, one of the most important is the choice of major and career track. Out of hundreds of majors the science and engineering fields are under-represented by women. Although the numbers of women in science technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, majors has been increasing in the past years, women still are in the minority in the STEM fields. In her study, Lona Whitmarsh concluded, “that career opportunities for women have widened,” but “not enough change has occurred to show significant differences between the overall population” (49). It is good that more women are entering these fields, but there are still not enough young women aspiring to fill the gaps. Further statistics show that female representation in engineering continues to be low, “in 2008 only 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 22.9 percent of masters, and 14.8 percent of PhDs in engineering were awarded to women” (Bystydzienski 2). Although there has been a general increase of women entering the fields of science and mathematics, overall the numbers are still low, showing that women struggle in pursuing a degree within these fields, and that many factors can lead to a female not choosing to begin or complete college in a STEM major. Women are in the minority of STEM fields.
According to Realist conflict theory, the stereotypes about African Americans formed from the competition for limited resources between European settlers and slaves of African descent (Lecture 3/29/16). It is important to understand the social psychological implications of stereotyping and prejudice, to consequently become more tolerant of others. Stereotyping and prejudice are thoughts that can lead to negative actions such as discrimination, which can lead to a decreased quality of life for any group in America. In a land that has based its constitution on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it is profoundly unacceptable. Through recognizing stereotypes, you will realize that your perceptions of a group are not always accurate, which will ultimately help to combat prejudice.
The intersection of race and gender and the experiences of discrimination and prejudice are paramount in defining and understanding the mental health of African American women (D. Brown & Keith, 2003; Canady, Bullen, HoIzman, Broman, & Tian, 2008). Behaviors seen in African American women are adaptations to a complex set of gender, generational, chronic, and extreme life stressors (hooks, 1993) and should be viewed in terms of the psychosocial and cultural factors unique to this
African students inhabit a unique space within the Black population. While some Africans choose to recognize the differences with African and African American cultures in many aspect so their lives, some decide to fully assimilate into the American culture. My research aims to understand whether or not African students have found that they are effortlessly able to switch between their identity as a black person in America and their identity as an African person. I also hope to understand how the positive and negative stereotypes that are associated with these two categories play a role in the lives of these students. In order to gauge the general sense of how Africans on campus think about their racial identity I will be conducting interviews
Black and Female: The Challenge of weaving an identity.? Journal of Adolescents July 1995 19. 466.
Cokley, Kevin. "The Impact of College Racial Composition on African American Students' Academic Self-Concept: A Replication and Extension." Journal of Negro Education 71.4 (2002): 288-96. JSTOR. Web.
It must be noted that for the purpose of avoiding redundancy, the author has chosen to use the terms African-American and black synonymously to reference the culture, which...
The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to improve the state of being for African-Americans.
Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics of their own inherited culture. Therefore, in an African American society, a search for self identity is a pervasive theme.
African American people have been oppressed for hundreds of years. Slavery was a significant time period when African/African American individuals endured massive oppression, which refers to the feeling of being deprived of their human rights and dignity (Reed, 2016). Knowing that my ancestors had to conceal their feelings along with their cultural values, makes me feel more entitled to express my ethnic identity as an African American woman. My ethnic identity has increase my sense of belongingness because it gives me the ability to share and live amongst individuals with the same physical appearance and in some cases, the same obstacles. Society has placed its’ social norms on modern day women, which allows men to make more for the same labor, or that stop successful women from achieving their goals by installing the glass ceiling. However, there is a higher increase of risk for African American women, such as decrease in the male head of household, along with urbanization. Which caused African American women to work long hours that resulted in a devastating shift in the family structure (Reed, 2016). Past, present and current experiences of African American women is why my ethnic identity is so important to me, because it is used as a constant reminder of the struggles that I have to overcome for my daughter and the generation after
Within living memory, young women who have wanted to study engineering faced such dissent that in 1955, Penn State’s dean of engineering declared, “Women are NOT for engineering,” asserting that all but a few “unusual women” lacked the “basic capabilities” necessary to succeed in this profession (Bix par. 2). Although the number of women in social sciences and humanities has grown steadily, women remain underrepresented in science and engineering. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that “women remain underrepresented in engineering constituting only 10 percent of full-time employed engineers and 7.7 percent of engineering managers...” Although this is the case, social norms, culture and attitudes play a significant role in undermining the role of women in the aforementioned fields in addition to the gendered persistence and their individual confidence in their ability to fulfill engineering roles.
In this reflective paper, I discuss several aspects of my race, ethnicity, and culture that has made me who I am, and impacted my overall individual identity.