Continued STEM Commitment in Light of 2020 Events: A Perspective From the Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation

We evaluated the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism on Underrepresented Minority (URM) students pursuing higher education in the STEM fields. Given the ongoing pandemic and the wave of protests in response to a series of police brutalities and systemic racism, URM students were thrown into uncharted territory. We reached out to a group of Black and Latino students who were already engaged in STEM. We began surveys and interviews by asking participants how they were and how their family and communities were doing. Next, participants answered questions about academic progress, challenges, and what support would be helpful. Our framework was based on a mixed-methods approach that draws on the work of Michael Patton (Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice, 2014) and Veronica Thomas (American Journal of Evaluation, 2016, 38 (1), 7–28). Qualitative data from interviews were collected to capture perceptions, experiences, and recommendations of the study participants. Survey data were collected to reach as many students as possible and to provide numerical self-assessments of student experience, progression, and obstacles. All qualitative data were coded thematically using Atlas. ti, with the goal of illuminating emerging themes, and quantitative data were reviewed using descriptive statistics. Themes emerging from both data sets were compared, contrasted, and integrated in order to develop consistent findings that would enhance URM student perseverance and persistence in the face of confounding adversities. This study shows that ILSAMP COVID-19 Study participants maintained a commitment to pursuing a career in STEM. The findings of this study also indicate that the participants are stressed by their immediate circumstances and by the ongoing racism of U.S. society. These students ask for additional financial, academic, and networking support during the disruptions caused by the pandemic. More specifically, students request continued advising and connection with STEM professionals who can help them envision and enact a pathway to their own careers in STEM during this tumultuous period. The study validates the importance of key elements of the national LSAMP model as reported by Clewell et al. (Revitalizing the Nation’s Talent Pool in STEM, 2006). These are: academic integration, social integration, and professional integration. In addition, it identifies several other factors that are key to student success, including interventions that directly address racial trauma and economic hardship.

Embracing a Practice of Care During Challenging Times: Voices of Social Justice Leaders

In an attempt to mitigate community spread of covid 19, many school districts cancelled face to face sessions and shifted to online instruction. As communities enacted quarantines, schools were pressed to transition learning environments to students’ homes while policymakers and leaders implemented a number of new policies and procedures. The purpose of this study explored how the covid 19 transformed the leadership of educators in three southwest Texas school districts when instruction was modified to e-learning. This qualitative study centered on the accounts and experiences of 25 elementary and secondary educators from 3 different Title I school districts in southwest Texas. The participants were graduate students in a nationally recognized program for the development of social justice leaders. As a result, this study uncovered how the practice of these educational leaders evolved to serve the Latino students in their communities. This study will highlight how the teachers’ agency helped leverage services to provide the learning opportunity for the learners.

Evaluation of a city-wide school-located influenza vaccination program in Oakland, California with respect to race and ethnicity: a matched cohort study

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of city-wide school-located influenza vaccination by race/ethnicity from 2014-2018. Methods: We used multivariate matching to pair schools in the intervention district in Oakland, CA with schools in West Contra Costa County, CA, a comparison district. We estimated difference-in-differences (DIDs) in caregiver-reported influenza vaccination coverage and laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalization incidence. Results: Differences in influenza vaccination coverage in the intervention vs. comparison site were larger among White and Latino students than Asian/Pacific Islander (API), Black, and multiracial students. Concerns about vaccine effectiveness or safety were more common among Black and multiracial caregivers; logistical barriers to vaccination were more common among White, API, and Latinos. In both sites, hospitalization in 2017-18 was higher in Blacks vs. other races/ethnicities. All-age influenza hospitalization incidence was lower in the intervention site vs. comparison site among White/API individuals in 2016-17 and 2017-18 and Black older adults in 2017-18, but not in other groups. Conclusions: SLIV was associated with higher vaccination coverage and lower influenza hospitalization, but associations varied by race/ethnicity. SLIV alone may be insufficient to ensure equitable health outcomes for influenza.

The Potential of Advanced Placement to Improve College Outcomes and Narrow Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities

The U.S. economy requires a highly educated workforce, yet too few black, Latino, and low-income students attend, persist, and graduate from college. The present study examines the college outcomes of participants in a model Advanced Placement® (AP) intervention to shed light on its effectiveness and determine whether improving AP participation and performance is a promising strategy for closing persistent racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in college outcomes. Findings suggest the college outcomes of program participants are better than those of similar students statewide while also highlighting variation within and across subgroups. At the same time, they confirm that AP participation and performance predict college outcomes and suggest that improving AP participation and performance among low-income white, black, and Latino students could be a useful strategy for closing persistent racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in college outcomes.

Nivel de actividad física y conductas sedentarias antes y durante el confinamiento a causa del COVID-19 en adultos mexicanos (Level of physical activity and sedentary behaviors before and during confinement due to COVID-19 in Mexican adults)

La declaración por la cepa de coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) como pandemia por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) obliga al confinamiento de millones personas, así como a modificar hábitos y estilos de vida. México es un país con altas cifras de enfermedades que se asocian con la inactividad física y el sedentarismo, las cuales provocan miles de defunciones al año. Se pretende comparar el nivel de actividad física y el tiempo dedicado a conductas sedentarias antes y durante el confinamiento a causa del COVID-19 en una muestra de adultos mexicanos. La población objeto de estudio son 1,027 sujetos (59.9% mujeres y 47.1% hombres) con una mediana de 22 y promedio de 27.36 años de edad, la mayoría son estudiantes, solteros, con estudios terminados de licenciatura y nivel socioeconómico medio. Los resultados mostraron que el nivel de actividad física tiende por disminuir a causa del confinamiento en los siete días de la semana y se incrementa el tiempo destinado a comportamientos sedentarios como ver Tv/Video/DVD’s/Netflix, descansar, hacer actividades (hobbies) cognitivos, jugar en la computadora/video juegos (no activos), escuchar música y conversar con familiares o amigos. Confirma que el confinamiento por COVID-19 tiene un impacto negativo en los estilos de vida de las personas durante el tiempo libre. Se requiere de innovadoras acciones para mitigar las consecuencias negativas por el confinamiento en el hogar. Abstract. The declaration of the coronavirus strain (SARS-CoV-2) as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) forces the confinement of millions of people, as well as to modify habits and lifestyles. Mexico is a country with high numbers of diseases that are associated with physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle, which cause thousands of deaths a year. The aim is to compare the level of physical activity and the time dedicated to sedentary behaviors before and during confinement due to COVID-19 in a sample of Mexican adults. The population under study is 1,027 subjects (59.9% women and 47.1% men) with a median age of 22 and an average of 27.36 years of age, the majority are Latino, students, single, with completed undergraduate studies and average socioeconomic level. The results showed that the level of physical activity tends to decrease due to confinement on the seven days of the week and the time allocated to sedentary behaviors such as watching TV / video / DVD's / Netflix, resting, doing cognitive activities (hobbies), play computer / video games (not active), listen to music, and chat with family or friends increases. It confirms that COVID-19 lockdown has a negative impact on people's lifestyles during free time. Innovative actions are required to mitigate the negative consequences of home confinement.

Struggling to Preserve Home Language: The Experiences of Latino Students and Families in the Canadian School System

Latinos in Canada are receiving attention because of frequent poor performance in school. This phenomenon turns out to be connected to a number of basic problems that can only be understood through investigation of institutional processes with routine operations that may disadvantage certain minorities. This paper presents and discusses part of the data collected in a larger research project on Latino families and Canadian schools. Bilingual Latina researchers used participant observation and action research techniques to report on the home language practices of 45 Latino families and how the school’s routine processes influenced those practices. Findings include the following: (a) parents saw Spanish maintenance as a way to foster family unity, Latino identity, and professional advancement; (b) the strong assimilative pressures experienced by parents often resulted in their doubting the desirability of openly speaking Spanish at home; (c) because the children were losing their home language rapidly, the parents used a number of strategies; and (d) there are several things that parents would like to see happen that would enable them to maintain Spanish. Our findings indicate the necessity for schools to proactively recognize and build on the family’s cultural capital, including their home language.

Struggling to Preserve Home Language: The Experiences of Latino Students and Families in the Canadian School System

Latinos in Canada are receiving attention because of frequent poor performance in school. This phenomenon turns out to be connected to a number of basic problems that can only be understood through investigation of institutional processes with routine operations that may disadvantage certain minorities. This paper presents and discusses part of the data collected in a larger research project on Latino families and Canadian schools. Bilingual Latina researchers used participant observation and action research techniques to report on the home language practices of 45 Latino families and how the school’s routine processes influenced those practices. Findings include the following: (a) parents saw Spanish maintenance as a way to foster family unity, Latino identity, and professional advancement; (b) the strong assimilative pressures experienced by parents often resulted in their doubting the desirability of openly speaking Spanish at home; (c) because the children were losing their home language rapidly, the parents used a number of strategies; and (d) there are several things that parents would like to see happen that would enable them to maintain Spanish. Our findings indicate the necessity for schools to proactively recognize and build on the family’s cultural capital, including their home language.

Latino Men and Masculinities: A Multi-Institution Study of Community College Transfer Experiences

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate how Latino men’s conceptions of masculinities influenced their attitudes and behaviors during the transition from community colleges to 4-year institutions. Method: A phenomenological approach was used to explore the lived experiences of 34 Latino men across Texas, California, and Florida. Each participant was interviewed twice; all data were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. Results: Findings suggest that, although prior conceptions of masculinities can sometimes provide positive tools during transfer, these conceptions also cause challenges as men negotiate incongruences between their masculine identity and what is required to succeed in college. Participation in on-campus men’s groups and student organizations can help Latino students navigate these incongruences and negotiate their own intersectional identities and conceptualizations of masculinities in light of their new environment. Contributions: This study demonstrates that Latino men continue to face challenges related to masculinities and identity conflicts during the community college to 4-year institution transfer process. Future research might further investigate how the multiple, intersecting identities of Latino men (e.g., sexuality, class) influence masculinities and transfer experiences. Implications for practice include a recommendation that institutions consider creating on-campus spaces and learning environments to support men in navigating masculinities.