Marginality and Mattering: Inequality in STEM Majors' Relationships With Higher Education Practitioners.

Higher education practitioners are a wide-ranging group of professionals often responsible for implementing programs and services that support student success. In this qualitative study, we examine the nature of student–practitioner relationships among a multiracial sample of 39 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college seniors to address three questions: (a) How do STEM students describe their relationships with practitioners on campus? (b) In what ways, if any, do student–practitioner relationships influence STEM students' feelings of marginality and/or mattering in STEM? and (c) To what extent do STEM students have different experiences based on their racial/ethnic identities? We employ a cross-case study analysis approach, contrasting the experiences of majority-status (e.g., White and Asian/Asian American) and minoritized-status (e.g., Black/African American and Latinx) students within STEM contexts. Our findings show clear differences regarding how students describe their interactions with practitioners based on racial/ethnic background, as well as how student–practitioner relationships impact students' sense of mattering and marginality in STEM. We conclude with implications for research and practice to address the persistent structural issues affecting STEM college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]