Presented by: Catherine M. Johnson, Doctoral Candidate, Montana State University

Transcription

1 Intercultural Socialization Experiences, Identity and Cultural Congruity of International Graduate Students in STEM at Research Universities in the U.S. Presented by: Catherine M. Johnson, Doctoral Candidate, Montana State University

2 Disclaimer This research is part of an AGEP-T: Alliances for Graduate Education & the Professoriate Transformation program under the HRD grants # Washington State University, # University of Idaho, # University of Montana, & # Montana State University. This project is supported by Collaborative Research: The Pacific Northwest Alliance to develop, implement & study a STEM Graduate Education Model for American Indian/Alaska Natives. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) & do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

3 Working Definitions Intercultural Socialization Intercultural taking place between cultures. The socialization process in this study is defined as the passage through which an individual learns to adopt the values, skills, attitudes, norms, knowledge needed for membership in each society, group or organization (Johnson, Ward, & Gardner, 2017). Cultural congruity, or a match of one's cultural or personal values with those of the university (Gloria & Robinson Kurpius, 1996).

4 Intercultural Socialization Experiences

5 Identity Prominence and Salience Identity is defined as the most public or socially constructed aspect of self. Identity prominence can also be labeled by the more commonsense term importance, it can be defined as the individual s subjective sense of the worth or value of an identity to himself or herself (Brenner, Serpe & Stryker, 2014; Ervin and Stryker 2001). Identity salience is understood as the probability that aspects of self will be invoked in distinct situations (Hogg, Terry & White, 1995). Hierarchical identity salience places importance on one identity over another in different social situations.

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7 Learning Objectives Analyze and discuss the current trends and preliminary research results in relation to international graduate student experience in STEM. Relate research to practices and policies that meet the unique needs of international graduate students at each level - institution, college, department and program. Discuss implications to enrollment management, make connections to each others context, and identify exemplary practices and policies to advocate for and implement at your organization.

8 Background of the Study International graduate students (IGS) in STEM graduate programs meet unique challenges at research universities in the United States. Traverse multiple global fields Student Visa Process Family Financial planning, i.e. hidden costs of graduate education projected versus actual Cultural isolation IGS encounter as they navigate American higher education

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11 Political, Social, and Economic Forces Changing enrollment patterns 3 % overall recent decline in IGS enrollment at U.S. graduate schools (Anderson, 2018). Competitive global markets to internationalize U.S. higher education (Cantwell & Maldonado Maldonado, 2009; Gopal, 2016). Pressures to internationalize higher education run counter to the series of Executive Orders 13789, and 9645 Countries effected Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen and Syria. Chad, North Korea, and Venezuela were added and Sudan was removed.

12 Current Trends International Graduate Students According to the SED (2016) IGS represent the majority in the following STEM degree programs: electrical engineering & petroleum engineering (81%), computer science (79%), industrial engineering (75%), statistics (69%), mechanical engineering & economics, statistics (63%), civil engineering (59%) and chemical engineering (57%) (National Foundation for American Policy, 2017; National Science Board, 2016)

13 Purpose of the Study To advance understanding about international graduate students socialization experiences in STEM disciplines and determine the impact of intercultural experiences on Identity Social Identity Professional Identity Faculty Interaction Mentor s Cultural Support Mentor Advising

14 Literature The research that has examined identity and the role of culture for IGS socialization experiences in STEM found the following factors as influential for IGS persistence: advisor relationship (Crede & Borrego, 2014; Zhao, Golde, & McCormick, 2007; Todorno, 2018; Zhou, 2015), peer group interaction (Floresh Scott & Nerad, 2012; Weidman & Stein, 2003), and cultural and social support (Fotovatian, 2012; Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992; Manathung, 2011).

15 Survey Constructs and Items: Intercultural Experiences in STEM Content My experiences in STEM are shaped by my cultural meaning systems. I have a strong cultural identity that guides the meanings that I attach to my interest in STEM. It is important for me to see how my culture of origin aligns with the STEM environment. I experience very few cultural conflicts with my STEM education. Graduate students who experience cultural conflict must adjust to the dominant culture on the campus, or have good connections at their university with cultural representatives to be persistent. The extent that individuals appreciate a graduate student's culture of origin can reduce the amount of cultural conflict experienced by the student, which can increase the student's persistence. The quality and quantity of a graduate student's connections with various cultural representatives on their own campuses is positively associated with their likelihood of persistence. Graduate students are more likely to persist if cultural representatives emphasize educational achievement, educational attainment, value, and cultural heritage. Items 5

16 Methods Survey design Questionnaire was administered online through Qualtrics to 12 doctoral public research universities. 1,085 out of 4,012 STEM graduate students reported that they were not American citizens. For this study we had a final sample of 927 students with complete data on all the variables. Nine STEM categories, including Agriculture Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Geosciences, Life/Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Physics/Astronomy.

17 Demographics Race/Ethnicity f (%) Arab/Middle Eastern 90 (2.8%) Asian/Pacific Islander 752 (23.6%) Black/African American 78 (2.4%) Hispanic/Latino 150 (4.7%) American Indian/Alaska Native 34 (1.1%) White/Caucasian 1716 (53.7%) Other 128 (4.0%) Note. 245 respondents did not respond to this question. As a result, percentages do not equal 100%

18 Phase 1 Research Questions Research Q1 To what extent does having a strong social and professional identity influence more favorable intercultural experiences for IGS in STEM degree programs? Research Q2 To what extent does having a strong social and professional identity and supportive mentors influence more favorable intercultural experiences for IGS in STEM degree programs?

19 Focal Variables Dependent Variables Independent Variables Controls Data Analysis Intercultural Experiences in STEM Professional Identity Social Identity Faculty Advisor Interaction (Mentor s Cultural Support & Mentor Advising) Race/Ethnicity Gender Year in School Degree, MS/PhD Ordinary Least Squares Regression

20 Conceptual Model

21 SOCIALIZATION IDENTITY PROMINENCE RQ1 & RQ2 CULTURAL CONGRUITY RQ4 INTERACTION RQ3 SOCIAL PROFESSIONAL MENTOR S CULTURAL SUPPORT MENTOR ADVISING PEER GROUP INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES IN STEM

22 Theoretical Framework

23 DISTAL Large Social Structures National Global Norms Intermediate Social Structures PROXIMAL Proximate Social Structures IDENTITY PROMINENCE Social - Professional INTERMEDIATE SOCIAL STRUCTURES INTERACTION Localized Network Faculty Advisor - Cultural Support/Advising and Peer Group STEM Department Institution INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES COMMITMENT Role Acquisition in Disciplinary Field Meaning-Making Negotiation

24 Table 2. Description of Study Variables (n=927). Variables Coding/Range M SD Intercultural Experiences Index Professional Identity Index Social Identity Index Mentor s Cultural Support Index Mentor Advising Index Individual Controls White/Caucasian (Reference) 0 = no; 1 = yes 10% --- Arab/Middle Eastern 0 = no; 1 = yes 6% --- Asian/Pacific Islander 0 = no; 1 = yes 66% --- Black/African American 0 = no; 1 = yes 4% --- Hispanic/Latino 0 = no; 1 = yes 8% --- Other 0 = no; 1 = yes 6% --- Males (Reference) 0 62% --- Females 1 38% --- Masters(Reference) 0 28% --- Doctorate 1 72% --- Year in School 1 = 1 st year to 6=6 or more years

25 Table 3. Linear Regression Coefficients for Levels of Intercultural Experiences in STEM Index for IGS (n=927). VARIABLES Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Professional Identity (0.08) (0.08) (0.08) Social Identity 0.59*** (0.07) 0.55*** (0.07) Supervisor s Cultural Support *** (0.05) Supervisor s Advising Index (0.05) 0.53*** (0.07) 0.23*** (0.05) 0.07 (0.05) Individual Controls White/Caucasian (Reference) Arab/Middle Eastern (0.68) Asian/Pacific Islander ** (0.45) Black/African American (0.82) Hispanic/Latino ** (0.63) Other (0.72) Males (Reference) Females (0.28) Masters (Reference) Doctorate (0.33) Year in School (0.10) Intercept R-Square Adjusted R-Squared * p <.05. ** p <.01. *** p <.001 (two-tailed)

26 Findings: Intercultural Experiences IGS social identity is associated with positive intercultural experiences in STEM. IGS professional identity is not associated with positive intercultural experiences in STEM. Mentor s cultural support is associated with IGS positive intercultural experiences in STEM. Mentor advising is not associated with positive intercultural experiences in STEM. Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanic Latino IGS have more favorable cultural experiences in STEM compared to White IGS. Full model explained 16% of IGS' level of intercultural experiences in STEM.

27 Activity: Pair and Share Work collaboratively to operationalize two key factors found below to develop a matrix of practices relevant to your institutional context. Example factors: Cultural isolation Acknowledging transnational identity IGS traverse multiple global fields (Phelps, 2016) Changing enrollment patterns recent decline in IGS enrollment at U.S. graduate schools (Choudaha & Hu, 2017; Open Doors, 2017; Okahana, 2018). Health insurance, travel ban, and immigration regulations (Todoran, 2018) Competitive global markets to internationalize U.S. higher education (Choudaha & Hu, 2017; Cantwell & Maldonado Maldonado, 2009).

28 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT NAGAP, Graduate Student Research Grant National Science Foundation The Graduate School & Department of Education at Montana State University

29 QUESTIONS AND CONTACT Catherine M. Johnson, Montana State University THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT, TIME, AND ATTENTION!!