"I can do data for my people": experiences of giving back for Native undergraduates in computing.
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| Title: | "I can do data for my people": experiences of giving back for Native undergraduates in computing. |
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| Authors: | Jaumot-Pascual, Nuria1 (AUTHOR) nuria_jaumot-pascual@terc.edu, DeerInWater, Kathy2 (AUTHOR), Ong, Maria1 (AUTHOR), Silva, Christina B.1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Cultural Studies of Science Education. Sep2023, Vol. 18 Issue 3, p879-909. 31p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Native American universities & colleges, *Undergraduates, *Role models, *Student recruitment, *Computer science, Indigenous women |
| Abstract (English): | This paper focuses on the undergraduate experiences in computer sciences (CS) disciplines of eight Native women and two-spirit undergraduates and how their values and experiences around the communal goal of giving back enable them to persist in computing. The paper draws from a one-year study that included participants across the U.S.A from predominantly White institutions, Native serving institutions, and tribal colleges. Utilizing the decolonizing and participant-centered methods of photo elicitation, our interviews used photographs taken by participants as starting points for conversations. This method resulted in deep understandings of participants' experiences of the supports and barriers in their CS programs, and of the importance of giving back for persistence. We adapt Page-Reeves and colleagues' 2019 framework for giving back and Native students in STEM—particularly the concepts of giving back as a Native value and giving back in the context of CS education—to illuminate the ways in which participants persisted and navigated their identities as Native students and emergent computer scientists. We also introduce a new concept, culturally connected giving back, to describe the ways in which Native undergraduates in computing contributed, or planned to contribute, towards technology sovereignty and cultural preservation. CS, like many STEM fields, is typically viewed as highly individualistic and not aligned with communal goals of helping others. However, Native participants in this study identified computing as having the potential for giving back. They incorporated a broad range of giving back actions into their computing professional identities through teaching, mentoring, serving as role models, creating counterspaces, or preserving their cultures using their computing skills. Through giving back, participants fulfilled a sense of obligation to their communities or counteracted negative stereotypes about Native learners. Beneficiaries of these acts of giving back included Native and other minoritized peers, younger students, home communities, and other Native communities. Importantly, opportunities to give back served as strong motivators to persist in CS in spite of challenges. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy and practice and also explore the implications for how institutions and CS departments can support Native student recruitment, retention, and success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (Spanish): | Resumen: Este artículo resalta las experiencias de ocho estudiantes indígenas en licenciatura de ciencias de la computación, quienes se identifican como mujeres o personas del tercer género (dos espíritus) y de cómo sus valores y vivencias en relación a sus objetivos de ser solidarios y ayudar a sus comunidades les ayudaron a persistir en sus estudios. El artículo presenta resultados de un estudio que duró un año y que incluyó participantes en los Estados Unidos que estudiaban en instituciones predominantemente blancas, instituciones que sirven poblaciones indígenas, o universidades tribales. El equipo usó el método de entrevistas fotográficas con intenciones descolonizantes y centradas en los participantes, quienes son los que tomaron las fotografías para luego usarlas como punto de partida para las conversaciones en las entrevistas. Este método resultó en una mejor comprensión de las experiencias de los participantes en cuanto a los apoyos y obstáculos que encontraron en sus programas en ciencias de la computación, y de la importancia que ser solidarios y ayudar a su comunidad tuvo en su persistencia. Adaptamos el marco teórico sobre el rol que tiene ser solidario y ayudar a su comunidad en la persistencia de estudiantes indígenas en carreras de ciencias y tecnología, desarrollado en 2019 por Page-Reeves y su equipo. Nos enfocamos principalmente en el concepto de ser solidarios y ayudar a la comunidad como valor indígena en el contexto de la educación en ciencias de la computación y en cómo los participantes persistieron y navegaron sus identidades como estudiantes indígenas y sus incipientes identidades como científicos. También introducimos un nuevo concepto que llamamos "ser solidario y ayudar a la comunidad de manera culturalmente conectada". Este nuevo concepto describe cómo los estudiantes de licenciatura indígenas en ciencias de la computación contribuían, o pensaban contribuir, a la soberanía tecnológica y la preservación cultural de sus grupos indígenas. Las ciencias de la computación, como muchos campos de las ciencias y la tecnología, se perciben como disciplinas altamente individualistas y que no se alinean con valores relacionados a ser solidarios y ayudar la comunidad. A pesar de eso, los participantes de este estudio identificaron las ciencias de la computación como una disciplina con potencial para implementar esos valores. Incorporaron a sus identidades profesionales en las ciencias de la computación un amplio rango de actividades para ser solidarios y ayudar a su comunidad, como enseñar, ser mentores, crear refugios sociales y culturales para sus compañeros, o preservar sus culturas utilizando sus habilidades en computación. A través de ser solidarios y ayudar a sus comunidades, los participantes cumplían con su sentido de obligación hacia sus comunidades y contrarrestaban los estereotipos negativos sobre los estudiantes indígenas. Los beneficiarios de estos actos de solidaridad y ayuda a la comunidad incluían compañeros indígenas y de otros grupos minoritarios, estudiantes más jóvenes, sus comunidades de origen, y otras comunidades indígenas. Es importante indicar que las oportunidades para ayudar a la comunidad sirvieron de gran motivación para persistir en sus estudios en ciencias de la computación a pesar de todas las dificultades. Finalmente, hablamos de las implicaciones de nuestras conclusiones para las políticas y la práctica educativa, a la vez que exploramos sus implicaciones en relación a cómo las instituciones y los departamentos de ciencias de la computación pueden apoyar el reclutamiento, la retención, y el éxito de los estudiantes indígenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the undergraduate experiences in computer sciences (CS) disciplines of eight Native women and two-spirit undergraduates and how their values and experiences around the communal goal of giving back enable them to persist in computing. The paper draws from a one-year study that included participants across the U.S.A from predominantly White institutions, Native serving institutions, and tribal colleges. Utilizing the decolonizing and participant-centered methods of photo elicitation, our interviews used photographs taken by participants as starting points for conversations. This method resulted in deep understandings of participants' experiences of the supports and barriers in their CS programs, and of the importance of giving back for persistence. We adapt Page-Reeves and colleagues' 2019 framework for giving back and Native students in STEM—particularly the concepts of giving back as a Native value and giving back in the context of CS education—to illuminate the ways in which participants persisted and navigated their identities as Native students and emergent computer scientists. We also introduce a new concept, culturally connected giving back, to describe the ways in which Native undergraduates in computing contributed, or planned to contribute, towards technology sovereignty and cultural preservation. CS, like many STEM fields, is typically viewed as highly individualistic and not aligned with communal goals of helping others. However, Native participants in this study identified computing as having the potential for giving back. They incorporated a broad range of giving back actions into their computing professional identities through teaching, mentoring, serving as role models, creating counterspaces, or preserving their cultures using their computing skills. Through giving back, participants fulfilled a sense of obligation to their communities or counteracted negative stereotypes about Native learners. Beneficiaries of these acts of giving back included Native and other minoritized peers, younger students, home communities, and other Native communities. Importantly, opportunities to give back served as strong motivators to persist in CS in spite of challenges. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy and practice and also explore the implications for how institutions and CS departments can support Native student recruitment, retention, and success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 18711502 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11422-023-10172-5 |
