RUME 26
2024
Omaha, Nebraska
Sense of Belonging of Minoritized Female STEM Students in Introductory Mathematics Classes: A Mixed Methods Study
Page: 1391
Sense of belonging is a critical factor in supporting female minoritized students’ persistence, motivation, and positive outcomes in STEM education. However, current research base is largely quantitative, focused on singular identities, and situated in the campus or department level, rather than the classroom level, at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), or selective research universities. This study addresses this gap by examining belonginess at the classroom level by implementing a sequential, explanatory mixed methodology to explore Black and Latina female students’ sense of belonging at a diverse open-access, minority-serving, public college. The poster presentation will include quantitative results and graphs that show how sense of belonging changes through a semester of college algebra and precalculus classes based on students’ racial and gender identities as well as their affinity for mathematics.