Department of Educational Administration
First Advisor
Elvira Abrica
Date of this Version
5-2023
Abstract
There has been extensive research into the underrepresentation of minoritized students in STEM disciplines since the 1990s with limited success in improving the representation of Black women in math-intensive STEM fields. This dissertation aims to address how the guiding tenets of critical quantitative (QuantCrit) methods work when used with publicly available datasets and commonly used statistical approaches. Additionally, this dissertation provides a framework for how to apply reflexivity as a method while utilizing a QuantCrit approach. The publicly available HSLS:09 dataset is used as part of a reflexive study to demonstrate how the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) map onto a QuantCrit study utilizing structural equation modeling. Through personal, methodological, and conceptual reflexivity, disconnects between the tenets and the QuantCrit study are highlighted and discussed. These findings indicate a need for more robust guidelines surrounding QuantCrit research. Furthermore, publication access must be expanded to encourage movement beyond traditional White ways of knowing.
Advisor: Elvira Abrica
Comments
A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Educational Studies (Educational Leadership and Higher Education), Under the Supervision of Professor Elvira Abrica. Lincoln, Nebraska: May, 2023
Copyright © 2023 Elizabeth I. Collins