RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Empowering STEM Pathways: Social and Institutional Support for Hispanic/Latine Students in Higher Education
Page: 1284
While Latine/Hispanic higher education enrollment rates have increased over time, enrollment in STEM, and mathematics in particular, has been slower to change. As part of a larger study, our team interrogates the experiences of those who have successfully navigated the mathematics pathway. Specifically, we look to understand how our research participants leveraged the support of both social (familial, peer, etc.) and institutional (mentors, faculty, administrators) along their academic pathways. We investigate primarily using in-depth qualitative interviews of five individuals who hold bachelor's degrees in mathematics and STEM PhDs, to ascertain both positive and negative influences on their education, utilizing the community cultural wealth framework. While the Latine PhD population is, of course, not monolithic, our findings suggest that social, familial, and navigational capital were instrumental in their ultimately successful navigation of both graduate and undergraduate education.