An emerging approach to diversity and inclusion initiatives within the sciences is to consider the assets and resources (in the form of capitals) held by individuals from underrepresented groups. In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, we performed a systematic literature review to explore the secondary types of capital that exist within the STEM education literature, in relation to the five primary forms of capital: cultural, economic, human, social, and symbolic. We identified 184 scholarly documents using systematic literature review procedures. To qualify, documents needed to pertain to STEM, careers and education, and capital and explicitly define capital. We extracted the capital types that were found in the retained documents and recorded their definitions. Thirty-six forms of capital emerged from these studies, and 27 were retained in our final model. Five of these capitals were primary capital categories (cultural, economic, human, social, and symbolic); twenty-one were secondary capitals. Using a deductive thematic coding approach, we sorted the secondary capitals into the five primary capital categories based on their definitions. Three secondary capitals that did not align with any of the primary capitals were sorted into a “other” category. These three capitals were then analyzed inductively and were sorted into a newly developed intrinsic capital primary category. The final Capital Framework Model CFM) was developed. To test the CFM, we performed an exploratory study in Chapter 2 looking at how the CFM could be used to explain the educational and career persistence of scientists from underrepresented groups and determine which capitals were most useful to scientists from underrepresented groups for their educational and career persistence. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with scientists who identified as a racial/ethnic minority or disabled or queer. Interview transcripts were coded through a deductive thematic analysis, using the CFM model as a codebook. Findings illustrate that participants from underrepresented groups accessed social capital, cultural capital, economic capital, and intrinsic capital to persist in STEM careers. Scientists of color engaged with capitals differently than white scientists. A new intrinsic capital type- critical consciousness capital- was added to the CFM model. The third chapter of this dissertation builds off the work of Yosso (2005) and Chapters 1 and 2, to explore how the CFM, with the inclusion of critical consciousness capital, explains the career trajectories of Latinx scientists. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Latinx scientists and were coded deductively using the updated CFM as a codebook. Findings reveal that while traditional initiatives that provide social and cultural capital in order to broaden the participation of underrepresented students in STEM are effective, it is the strengths and resources - in the form of capital- derived from their communities, that empower and enable Latinx scientists to persist in scientific careers. Most importantly, we found that Latinx scientists are drawn to the social justice implications of a scientific career and strive towards helping their communities combat the oppressive systems that hold them back. Efforts to broaden participation in STEM could be improved by embedding the cultural and intrinsic strengths found among Latinx communities into their programming with a focus on applying scientific principles into social justice work.
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