True-Funk, A., & Poleacovschi, C., & Jones-Johnson, G., & Feinstein, S. G., & Berger, M. (2020, October), Proposing an Engineering Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale  Paper presented at 2020 ASEE North Midwest Section Annual Conference, Ames, Iowa. 10.18260/1-2--44672

\bibitem{asee_peer_44672}
  True-Funk, A., \& Poleacovschi, C., \& Jones-Johnson, G., \& Feinstein, S. G., \& Berger, M. (2020, October), \emph{Proposing an Engineering Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale}
  Paper presented at 2020 ASEE North Midwest Section Annual Conference, Ames, Iowa.
  10.18260/1-2--44672

Arielle True-Funk, Cristina Poleacovschi, Gloria Jones-Johnson, Scott Grant Feinstein, and Meghan Berger M.A., LCMHCA, NCC.  "Proposing an Engineering Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale".  2020 ASEE North Midwest Section Annual Conference, Ames, Iowa, 2020, October.  ASEE Conferences, 2020.  https://peer.asee.org/44672 Internet.  01 May, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_44672}
  Arielle True-Funk, Cristina Poleacovschi, Gloria Jones-Johnson, Scott Grant Feinstein, and Meghan Berger M.A., LCMHCA, NCC.
  "Proposing an Engineering Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale".
  \emph{2020 ASEE North Midwest Section Annual Conference, Ames, Iowa, 2020, October}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2020.
  https://peer.asee.org/44672 Internet.  01 May, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_44672
author = "Arielle True-Funk, Cristina Poleacovschi, Gloria Jones-Johnson, Scott Grant Feinstein, and Meghan Berger M.A., LCMHCA, NCC"
title = "Proposing an Engineering Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale"
booktitle = "2020 ASEE North Midwest Section Annual Conference"
year = "2020"
month = "October"
address = "Ames, Iowa"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/44672}
number = {10.18260/1-2--44672}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - RESEARCH PROBLEM
Women and minorities have been flocking to institutions of higher learning in greater numbers than in the past Change does not come without resistance from those who have traditionally represented most engineers. Although instances of overt racism and sexism can be found, more pervasive forms of racism occur through the processes of microaggressions (Brons 2015). In their seminal article, Sue et al. ( 2007) define microaggressions as, “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults (pg. 271).” Perpetrators of microaggressions towards people of color and women may be unaware of the impact of their words and phrasing and has led to considerable dissent amongst some researchers. It should be noted that the researchers who speak out the loudest against recognizing and examining microaggressions speak from a place of majority and privilege. Of course, by denying the effects of microaggressions these individuals engage in institutional subordination of minorities through their defense of these behaviors. Two-thirds of minorities in engineering report frequent experiences of subtle racist behaviors (Williams et al. 2016). Previous studies document the frequency of microaggressions (Forrest-Bank and Jenson 2015; Fouad et al. 2017), yet the nature and effect of repeated exposure has not been examined extensively. This research extends the knowledge beyond simple frequency of occurrence to the aggregate effect of microaggressions on student success and persistence in engineering. 
This research differs from previous work because it incorporates an intersectional perspective by acknowledging microaggressions are not experienced universally for individuals within all groups or institutions (Crenshaw et al. 1993; Wilkins 2012).  In the context of a predominantly white institution (PWI) and a historically black college/university (HBCU), the experiences of gender and racial minorities in engineering departments were asked to share their experiences to identify overarching themes in microaggressive language and actions. The research strives to answer, “How do gender and race microaggressions affect student success and persistence in engineering programs?”
BRIEF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH
	Using focus groups and individual interviews, this research identifies themes of gender and race microaggressions experienced by engineering students who identify as White men, White women, African American men, African American women, Latino men, and Latina women. Following identification of microaggression themes, a Gender and Race Microaggressions Scale (GRMS) was designed to capture these themes. This scale strives to answer, “What is an effective psychometric scaling technique for a self-report instrument on gender and race microaggressions?” Previous research has focused race and developed a Racial Microaggresions Scale (RMS) (Balsam et al. 2011; Forrest-Bank and Jenson 2015; Reskin 2003; Sue et al. 2009), but no other research has included the intersectional nature of race and gender. Previous RMS contained between 34 and 52 items (Balsam et al. 2011; Torres-Harding et al. 2012). The GRMS will incorporate aspects of these scales and create new items to capture both racial and gender microaggressions. Once the new scale is created, techniques such as intercoder reliability and coding agreement will be employed to increase reliability of the scale (Campbell et al. 2013). Additionally, validity checks will be conducted by experts (e.g. Dr. Derald Sue) to identify whether additional items need to be added, modified, or excluded. 
Following the completion of the scale design, a pilot survey will be sent to sub-sample of engineering students at the two universities. Using exploratory factor analysis, the underlying factor structure will be examined to compare to the themes identified earlier in the qualitative analysis. Any items which do not load well on the factors will be modified or eliminated to ensure the scale measures intersectional gender and racial microaggressions. 
KEY FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS
	This research expands knowledge on intersectional microaggression experiences of engineering students. The overarching goal is to address the needs of multiple identity groups including the dominant white male student, female students, and students of color. Additionally, if the relationship between microaggressions and student success and persistence is supported, implications for retention of minority groups in engineer groups (Fouad et al. 2017). 
 
REFERENCES

Balsam, K. F., Molina, Y., Beadnell, B., Simoni, J., and Walters, K. (2011). “Measuring multiple minority stress: the LGBT People of Color Microaggressions Scale.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(2).
Brons, L. L. (2015). “Othering, an analysis.” Transcience, 6(1), 69–90.
Campbell, B., and Manning, J. (2015). “Microaggression and changing moral cultures.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 61(41), A25–A26.
Campbell, J. L., Quincy, C., Osserman, J., and Pedersen, O. K. (2013). “Coding In-depth Semistructured Interviews: Problems of Unitization and Intercoder Reliability and Agreement.” Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294–320.
Crenshaw, K., Creer, J., Cheung, E., Rimonte, N., Smith, F., Banks, T., Barenberg, M., Calkins, D., Davis, A., Dent, G., Edwards, B., Gewirtz, P., Guinier, L., Gotanda, N., Handler, J., Kennedy, D., and Monaghan, H. (1993). “Mapping the Margins : Intersectionality , Identity Politics , and Violence Against Women of Color Mapping the Margins : Intersectionality , Identity Politics , and Violence Against Women of Color.” Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.
Forrest-Bank, S., and Jenson, J. M. (2015). “Differences in experiences of racial and ethnic microaggression among Asian, Latino/Hispanic, black, and white young adults.” Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 42(1), 141–161.
Fouad, N. A., Chang, W. H., Wan, M., and Singh, R. (2017). “Women’s reasons for leaving the engineering field.” Frontiers in Psychology, 8(JUN), 1–11.
Reskin, B. F. (2003). “Including Mechanisms in Our Models of Ascriptive Inequality.” American Sociological Review, 68(1), 1–21.
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., and Esquilin, M. (2007). “Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice.” American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286.
Sue, D. W., Lin, A. I., Torino, G. C., Capodilupo, C. M., and Rivera, D. P. (2009). “Racial Microaggressions and Difficult Dialogues on Race in the Classroom.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 183–190.
Thomas, K. R. (2008). “Macrononsense in Multiculturalism.” American Psychologist, 63(4), 274–275.
Torres-Harding, S., Jr, A. L. A., Diaz, R., and Crist, E. (2012). “The Racial Microaggressions Scale (RMAS): A new scale to measure experiences of racial microaggressions in people of color.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18(2).
Wilkins, A. C. (2012). “Becoming Black Women: Intimate Stories and Intersectional Identities.” Psychology Quarterly, 75(2), 173–196.
Williams, J. C., Li, S., Rincon, R., and Finn, P. (2016). “Climate control: Gender and racial bias in engineering?” ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings.


AU  - Arielle True-Funk
AU  - Cristina Poleacovschi
AU  - Gloria Jones-Johnson
AU  - Scott Grant Feinstein
AU  - Meghan Berger M.A., LCMHCA, NCC
CY  - Ames, Iowa
DA  - 2020/10/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Proposing an Engineering Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/44672
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44672
ER  -