PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
The Counter-storytelling of Latinx Men’s Co-Constructions of Masculinities and Undergraduate Mathematical Success
Page: 1031
While Latinxs complete undergraduate engineering degrees at lower rates than Whites and Asians, Latinx men trail behind Latinx women who recently earned over half of engineering and science degrees conferred to Latinxs. With multiple semesters of mathematics required in engineering majors, qualitative analyses of undergraduate Latinx men’s strategies of persistence and success in engineering can illuminate ways to inform more socially-affirming postsecondary educational opportunities and thus increase retention in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This report presents findings from a phenomenological study that characterized variation in two undergraduate Latinx men’s negotiations of their masculinities with pursuits of mathematical success as engineering majors at a large, predominantly White four-year university. Findings illuminate the Latinx men’s strategies of managing risks of mathematics classroom participation, building academically and socially supportive relationships with faculty members, and negotiating pursuits of STEM higher education with their gendered sense of commitment to family.