Olivia Lee
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Angela Ebreo
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Diversity Research & Policy Program / Education
Program: UROP
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors: Olivia Lee, Angela Ebreo
Abstract
Historically, some racial minority groups continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields in higher education (Riegle-Crumb et al., 2019). Several initiatives address underrepresentation in STEM, including NSF’s Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP). Retention and participation of minority students in STEM fields at various Michigan higher education institutions is a part of Michigan-LSAMP’s (MI-LSAMP) purpose. Based on the Bowman (2011) Strengths-Based Model, the overall purpose of the MI-LSAMP research program is to understand multilevel (e.g., personal-level, campus-level, program-level) strengths that can help underrepresented students succeed in college. As part of the research program, my study focuses on social identity as a type of personal strength. I focus on students’ sense of belonging as it relates to their identification with their socioeconomic status (SES) because SES can be a significant factor in determining how a student experiences higher education (Titus, 2006). A Ph.D. level researcher used a semi-structured interview protocol to obtain qualitative data from seven MI-LSAMP students who began their participation prior to fall 2022. Students were asked about challenges they’ve faced, their sense of belonging on campus, and their aspirations to continue in their studies. In this poster, I present a preliminary step in the process of analyzing the interview data that will be used later to examine how social identity is related to student sense of belonging. In this phase of my study, I memo’ed the interview transcripts in order to: a) develop definitions of student outcomes as represented in the Bowman model and b) identify factors outside of Bowman’s Strengths-Based Model that I think need to be considered prior to the coding phase of the study. These factors include a student’s sense of belonging while on campus, a category not addressed in the Bowman Model. My findings (the codes developed) will discuss be discussed in terms of how a student’s sense of belonging might be impacted by their socioeconomic status and the implications for educational practice or policy. In the next phase of my research, these codes and codes developed from the Bowman model will be applied to the interview transcripts.
