Author(s): Aikhin Cheng
Mentor(s): Britt Wyatt, Josh Premo
Institution UVU
Engaging all students in science is essential for increased diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and thoughts that contribute to the scientific process (Powell, 2018). This is important for ethnic groups historically underrepresented in science such as black and Latina/o (Riegle-Crumb, et al., 2019). Part of this engagement can be assessed by examining students’ science identities and overall immersion in science. Developing a strong science identity helps students, especially minoritized students, feel more confident in science-related fields. This can help with feelings of isolation, which are common barriers for underrepresented students in STEM. This is a critical component of one’s immersion in the science discipline which are connected to confidence and self-perception of themselves in science (Bodnar, et al., 2020). Therefore, this study investigates the potential role of how science immersion may differ for individuals based on ethnicity. Specifically, do individuals from underrepresented ethnicities have a lower science immersion and therefore do not feel welcomed to continue to pursue science. As such our research questions were: (1) How do students’ immersion in science differ based on their ethnicities? And (2) To what degree does science immersion change as the semester progresses? To answer these questions, the study collected data at the start and end of the fall 2023 semester using a quantitative survey given to 1,332 students at an open-enrollment institution. The results indicate that while most groups remained neutral, Middle Eastern students consistently reported the lowest sense of belonging in science. However, due to the small sample size (n = 2) the findings for this group are not definitive. We also saw a decreased science immersion among black (n = 13) and white (n = 1080) students during the semester while all other groups become more immersed in science. This is particularly interesting because we saw an increased in science immersion for several underrepresented ethnicities in science (American Indians, Latina/o, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific islander). As the next step in analysis, we will determine factors predicting immersion change. The results highlight the need to create a more inclusive and supportive environment in STEM to enhance engagement across diverse ethnic groups.