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INTEGRATING QUANTCRIT APPROACHES IN STEM EQUITY WORK

Meaghan Pearson

PhD Candidate, Combined Program in Education and Psychology

University of Michigan

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ISSUES WITH CURRENT STEM EQUITY QUANTITATIVE PRACTICES

  • Objective or Post-Positivist Lens
    • Post-positivists hold beliefs that scientific research can be objective or neutral as long as researchers follow the scientific method (Guba & Lincoln, 1994)
    • Problem: Ignores how our institutions, classrooms and research are impacted by systemic inequities (Harding, 2006)
  • Achievement Gap Research
    • Researchers explore variations across different social groups (i.e., race, gender, SES) for different outcomes (i.e., grades, degree retention and self efficacy)
    • Problem: Reinforce negative stereotypes of different minoritized groups (Martin, 2012; Leyva, 2016)

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“THE WHITE FATHERS TOLD US, “I THINK, THEREFORE I AM.” THE BLACK MOTHER WITHIN EACH OF US—THE POET—WHISPERS IN OUR DREAMS: “I FEEL, THEREFORE I CAN BE FREE.” - AUDRE LORDE

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Sarah Castle

PhD Candidate

Mathematics Education, Michigan State University

Becky Matz, PhD

Center for Academic Innovation, University of Michigan

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Ben Koester, PhD

Department of Physics, University of Michigan

W. Carson Byrd, PhD

National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan

COLLABORATORS

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Ida B. Wells, Journalist

W. E.B. Du Bois, PhD Sociologist

Nichole Garcia, PhD Higher Education

Nancy López, PhD

Sociologist

Verónica N. Vélez, PhD., Secondary Education

David Giillborn, PhD

Education

Paul Warmington, PhD

Education

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, PhD

Sociologist

Jay Garvey, PhD

Education

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CRITICAL QUESTIONS: INTEGRATING QUANTCRIT APPROACHES IN STEM EQUITY WORK

How does lived experienced affect how one approaches research?

What theoretical assumptions are present in conceptualizations of equity practices?

What analytical and interpretive choices can be made to focus on excellence?

What theoretical linkages exist between the constructs and demographic variables of interest?

What should be considered when using standardized test (ACT/SAT) scores as a metric for “prior preparation”?

What measures capture structural inequalities that exist in STEM higher education?

How do changes in institutional categories for demographic variables over time affect analyses?

Are quantitative analyses the best tools for answering the proposed research questions?

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FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF QUANT CRIT

  • Grapple with historical and present-day reality of racism
  • Recognize that statistical practices uphold white supremacy (i.e., achievement gaps)
  • Interrogate how social categorizations like race and ethnicity fluctuate over time and how this impacts potential analysis
  • Implement the usage of minoritized voices to account for quantitative limitations
  • Use research for social justice agenda

(Gillborn et al., 2018; Crenshaw, 1989; Castillo & Gillborn, 2022; Garcia et al., 2018)

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CRITICAL QUESTIONS: INTEGRATING QUANTCRIT APPROACHES IN STEM EQUITY WORK

How does lived experienced affect how one approaches research?

What theoretical assumptions are present in conceptualizations of equity practices?

What analytical and interpretive choices can be made to focus on excellence?

What theoretical linkages exist between the constructs and demographic variables of interest?

What should be considered when using standardized test (ACT/SAT) scores as a metric for “prior preparation”?

What measures capture structural inequalities that exist in STEM higher education?

How do changes in institutional categories for demographic variables over time affect analyses?

Are quantitative analyses the best tools for answering the proposed research questions?

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CRITICAL QUESTIONS: INTEGRATING QUANTCRIT APPROACHES IN STEM EQUITY WORK

How does lived experienced affect how one approaches research?

What analytical and interpretive choices can be made to focus on excellence?

What measures capture structural inequalities that exist in STEM higher education?

(Pearson et al., 2022)

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HOW DOES LIVED EXPERIENCED AFFECT HOW ONE APPROACHES RESEARCH?�

  • An individuals’ beliefs about the world, personal background, characteristics, academic training and motivations influences the research process
  • Researchers should consider
    • Their relationship to the study
    • The motivations for their work
    • The lived experiences of the research team
  • Positionality shifts across different research projects

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WHAT ANALYTICAL AND INTERPRETIVE CHOICES CAN BE MADE TO FOCUS ON EXCELLENCE?�

  • Researchers should focus on exploring how minoritized are excelling despite structural inequities
    • LGBTQ+ students experience fewer stressors when they attend colleges that have academic studies, policies and student clubs supportive of LGBTQ+ individuals (Woodford et al., 2018)
    • CRT informed STEM education interventions can strengthen students of color’s science identities (Camacho et al., 2021)
    • Minority Serving Institutions do a better job of retaining students of color in STEM departments in comparison to predominantly white institutions (Perna et al., 2010)

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WHAT MEASURES CAPTURE STRUCTURAL INEQUALITIES THAT EXIST IN STEM HIGHER EDUCATION?�

  • Individual identity variables (i.e., race, gender, SES) are often used to reflect structural effects (i.e., racism, sexism, classism)
  • Potential avenues
    • Student climate data (Leath & Chavous, 2018)
    • Institutional characteristics (public vs. private, selective, DEI programs and policies; Espinosa, 2011; Ohland et al.,, 2018)
  • Still grappling through effective strategies – suggests the needs to turn toward mixed methods or qualitative work for inspiration

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GOING FORWARD, WE SHOULD CONSIDER…

  • A commitment to equity is a commitment to dismantling systemic inequities and empowering minoritized folks
  • How is our work helping to dismantle systemic inequities?
  • How is our work empowering and embracing the lived experiences of minoritized folks?

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THANK YOU!

  • SEISMIC
  • Measurement Working Group Project 1 Members
  • Juniar Lucien, PhD Candidate in Physics, University of Michigan

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CONTACT ME!

  • Meaghan Pearson
  • meaghanp@umich.edu