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STEM IDENTITY OF PACIFIC ISLANDER UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN GUÅHAN (GUAM)
Dissertation

STEM IDENTITY OF PACIFIC ISLANDER UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN GUÅHAN (GUAM)

Chloe G. R. Dydasco
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2026
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Open Access

Abstract

Identity NHPI Pacific Islander STEM STEM Identity
STEM identity, its development, and how it relates to interest, motivation, academicperformance, and persistence within STEM fields has gained more scholarly attention within the past decade. Studies suggest that the more one identifies with, and feels accepted by others as a STEM person, the greater the likelihood that they pursue and persist in STEM fields. However, studies have also found that women and students of underrepresented minorities (URM) tend to have significantly lower STEM identity. This discrepancy is largely attributed to their historic lack of representation within STEM, as well as from other sociocultural, socioeconomic, and systemic challenges they disproportionally face. Moreover, there is notably less discourse that examines and accounts for URM students who identify as Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHPI), one of the most underrepresented groups in STEM. NHPI often experience the greatest barriers to higher education and STEM careers compared to other URM, yet they are greatly overlooked and unaccounted for in STEM research. Utilizing a mixed-method research design, and incorporating a validated model for STEM identity, the following study examined STEM identity within a largely NHPI student population.143 undergraduate students in the Pacific Island of Guam, USA, were surveyed, and ten survey participants were interviewed. Integrated (Quantitative and Qualitative) study findings, implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

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