Exploring Postsecondary STEM Faculty's Experiences Teaching Underrepresented Minority Students in STEM Introductory Courses in an HSI

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) introductory classes pose a barrier to Underrepresented Minority (URM) students' persistence in STEM due to several factors, including issues with curriculum design and teaching, as well as the prevalence of racial and gender oppression. STEM Faculty play a unique role in supporting URM students influenced by their racial identity and their participation in a STEM community of practice. However, the literature lacks research on faculty experiences and perceptions regarding how to support URM students and the role of race in their participation in a STEM community of practice. This is a phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994) that collected White STEM teachers' experiences when instructing URM students in STEM introductory courses. Additionally, this study utilized a framework composed of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), White race identity development (Helms, 2005), and culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2018) to expose the role of faculty's racial identity development and a STEM community of practice in faculty’s use of culturally responsive teaching methods to support URM students. I conducted in-depth interviews with eight self-identified White STEM teachers currently teaching a STEM introductory course and participating in a STEM community of practice at a Southwest Minority-Serving Institution (SMSI), and analyzed the data using transcendental phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994). Such methodology helped me capture the role of White teachers' identity development and their participation in a STEM community of practice in the support they offer to URM students in STEM introductory courses.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Developmental Education

Grantor

Texas State University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Estevez Posadas, Blanca

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Suh, Emily K.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Summers, Emily J.
• Acee, Taylor W.
• Hastings, Candace

• phenomenology
• STEM
• introductory classes
• communities of practice
• white race identity development
• culturally responsive teaching

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10877/24833

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/24833