LAUSR

Compared to other groups, relatively less research has specifically addressed the retention of Latinx students in STEM disciplines. These students face many negative stereotypes about their group, especially related to their academic success, yet there is limited research regarding how microaggressions, subtle or ambiguous discriminatory behaviors, targeting Latinx students in engineering education settings impact their experience in those programs. Guided by Sue's definitions and taxonomy of microaggressions, Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Theory, the purpose of the current study was to answer the following research questions: 1) What microaggressions do Latinx students experience in an engineering education environment? And 2) How do these microaggressions impact their academic wellbeing, as defined by their academic self-efficacy and academic performance? A phenomenological design was used to determine the microaggression experiences of Latinx students in higher education engineering programs. Qualitative data was collected using a semi-structured interview protocol composed of open-ended questions. Latinx students' experiences with microaggressions were largely guided by the misperception of Latinx students' foreignness and negative stereotypes regarding Latinx people. Despite the racial diversity of Generation Z, Latinx people's status as the largest minority group in the United States, and the increasing need for racial diversity in engineering, Latinx students remain devalued and ostracized in the engineering education environments. However, Latinx students have developed several strategies in order to persist in their majors despite their poor treatment.