Broadening Participation Research Project: The Development of a Multidimensional STEM Identity Measure to Increase the Retention and Success of African American Students at an HBCU

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Broadening Participation Research (BPR) in STEM Education projects supports the development, implementation, and study of new theory-driven models and innovations related to the participation and success of underrepresented groups in STEM undergraduate education. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, as well as improve the recruitment, retention, and success of underrepresented groups in STEM education and the workforce.

The project at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University seeks to collect and analyze data for the purpose of developing a new measure of STEM identity. Specifically, the instrument will be developed utilizing a critical race theory framework to ascertain the influences of racial identity and academic identity in African American students.

The goal of this project is to develop an instrument that conceptualizes the multidimensional nature of STEM identity in African American college students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). With a focus on social identity (race) and academic identity (STEM), the project also seeks to determine whether this instrument of STEM identity for African American students is effective in predicting participation in STEM-related activities or careers.

This project will use an Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods (qual->QUAN) design. This design will consist of two phases where qualitative data will be collected and analyzed to inform the development of items for the measurement. An expert panel will provide feedback throughout the qualitative aspect of the study to support content validity, as well as to solidify and refine items.

Cognitive interviews will be conducted to investigate overt and covert processes that are not typically observable. The relationship between Multidimensional African American STEM Identity (MAASI) and STEM outcomes (i.e. STEM achievement and STEM participation) will be explored using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with latent variables in Mplus.

A small pilot implementation study will be conducted in the last year of the study to explore how leveraging and targeting the information from the MASSI promotes the STEM achievement, identity, and involvement of African American students. Baseline scores on the MASSI will be captured for a small sample of students enrolled an eight-week African American STEM Identity development program to administer the MASSI at the conclusion of the program and assess changes in their STEM identity.

This project has the potential to make a significant theoretical contribution, in that it will contribute to the development of a multidimensional Model of African American STEM Identity. The existing theories and models of STEM-related identities (specifically science, mathematics, and engineering) are based on Eurocentric frameworks and samples; however, using Critical Race Theory as a guiding framework will allow for a more culturally appropriate model.

This instrument will be the first quantitative tool to measure the STEM identity of African American students while accounting for their racial identity. The project also aims to demonstrate that psychometric tools developed to measure the non-cognitive STEM attributes of African American students must account for their racial identity.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.