“That does not apply”: graduate students’ (mis)perceptions of the racial climate in STEMM
Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education
ISSN: 2398-4686
Article publication date: 28 May 2024
Issue publication date: 26 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) graduate students’ experiences with and conceptualizations of racism can more clearly expose the current racial climate across multiple academic institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach using a single online questionnaire consisting of open-ended and Likert scale questions about their perceptions of the racial climate in their department was completed by 34 graduate students of different races and STEMM disciplines.
Findings
Results from this study suggested that graduate students, regardless of race, consistently perceive STEMM as colorblind. The results also suggest that experiencing or witnessing racial discrimination is potentially predictive of perceptions of negative social support. Furthermore, multiracial and international graduate students often face different experiences of discrimination than do other graduate students.
Originality/value
By better understanding STEMM academic climates, higher education institutions can begin to reflect on the social barriers that may limit minoritized students from matriculating in academic STEMM spaces and affect retention.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
No funding sources were provided for this research, but we would like to thank Matt Smith and Chuck Rozek from Case Western Reserve University and research assistants Faith Adekeye, Kolin Heck, and Jasmine Ng from the Political Ideology Group lab for supporting this research study. Additionally we thank Drs. Brian Burt, Helen Neville, and Ishmail Conway for their thoughtful and useful comments to the final version of this manuscript, and Cynthia Williams for her exceptional editorial and editing support.
Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors..
Citation
Kunze, A. and Hopson, R. (2024), "“That does not apply”: graduate students’ (mis)perceptions of the racial climate in STEMM", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 290-305. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-07-2023-0064
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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