Who Fits Into Science?

Mercedes Muñoz has always liked science, but growing up in El Paso, Texas, she didn’t have a science museum nearby or many STEM activities to engage in.

“So, it was hard for me to understand what science was and how I could fit in it,” she says.

Luckily something clicked when Muñoz was around 13 years old and had to participate in her school science fair. Her project focused on politics, something she’s always been interested in.

She wanted to know if people would vote for a candidate based on party affiliation alone, or whether they actually agreed with their policies.

“I had two conditions: one where I said ‘here’s what a Democrat or a Republican said’ and I included political stances that align with each party’s perspective, and a second experimental condition where I said ‘this is what a Democrat said,’ and I put Republican statements,” she says.

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Muñoz found that both Republicans and Democrats were willing to agree with a statement a politician had said even if that politician was not a member of their party.

“I really just loved the idea of having a question and being able to answer the question with data,” Muñoz says.

She didn’t realize that she would grow up to be a scientist. Now, as a Ph.D. student in Duke’s Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, she’s exploring how to encourage more young people to follow a science path, while also continuing to examine the idea of identity.

Children, Community Partners and Undergraduates

Muñoz has been involved in a Duke Bass Connections project, Increasing Children’s Sense of Belonging in STEM Fields, led by faculty members Sarah Gaither and Tamar Kushnir. Bass Connections supports collaborative interdisciplinary research by teams of faculty, graduate students and undergraduates.

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“We know from previous research that minority children — including children who are Black, and Latine girls especially — might not feel like they can be a scientist because they have these stereotypes about what science is and who scientists are,” says Muñoz. “So we thought instead of just teaching children that science is chemistry and science is biology, what if we taught them science is the flowers and science is the animals and broaden their idea of what science could be?”

What if we broaden their idea of what science could be?

Muñoz, Ph.D. student Jessa Stegall and staff member Sydney Revell worked with six undergraduates to design a study and are partnering with the Museum of Life and Science in Durham to collect data.

“This is a really unique experience because we are able to work with a community partner here in Durham to implement our interventions, our science, while having the undergraduate students be involved in the project from the ground up.”

The team created two types of storybooks for children to read at the museum: one focused on stereotypical science exhibits, like the Tornado Vortex, and another focused on nonstereotypical science exhibits, like the Butterfly House.

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The undergraduates calculate the children’s “science capital” (science-related knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources) and, after the children read the storybooks, assess their interest and sense of belonging in science.

They’re finding that engaging children in science in informal science settings like the museum leads to high-quality STEM interactions for all children.

“One of my favorite parts of being a Ph.D. student is that I get to work with Duke undergrads. They’re so creative and always eager to see where things go,” Muñoz says. “I really enjoy helping them realize their potential as researchers. A lot of times it doesn’t take much — just guiding them or answering a couple of questions can propel them in the right direction.”

Latine Individuals

Although Muñoz has been deeply involved in the Bass Connections project, most of her research focuses on Latine identity.

“I’m looking at whether Latine individuals prefer to see their identity listed as a race or an ethnicity on demographic forms. The consequences of doing it one way versus another have significant policy implications,” she says.

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The current federal standard asks respondents to indicate whether they are of “Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin,” then asks them to select their race. “Right now, there’s no racial option for Latine, which can be really confusing for people who don’t racially identify as anything else,” says Muñoz.

Muñoz explains that by 2030, approximately one in four children in the U.S. will be Latine, and researchers don’t yet have a clear understanding of how Latine children conceptualize their racial ethnic identities on forms.

“As part of my dissertation, Dr. Gaither and I asked children and parents if they prefer to fill out the current demographic form or one that just includes Latine as a race option. We’re finding that, across children and parents, there’s a preference for the race form, but it’s not statistically significant. So now we’re trying to better understand what kind of life experiences, beliefs and psychological tendencies influence whether someone will have an ethnic identification or a racial one with their identity.”

Muñoz found data that shows Latine children and their parents with a medium tan to darker skin tone prefer to fill out the form that lists their identity as a race. “It could be that they have more racialized experiences and that makes them not want to select ‘White’ or anything else,” she says.

The Future

Muñoz, Stegall and Revell will present their research in talks at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting in May.

Duke has taught me that I really enjoy teaching classes and leading undergrads in research.

Muñoz will graduate next spring and most likely look for teaching-focused jobs. “Duke has taught me that I really enjoy teaching classes and leading undergrads in research,” she says. “I’m very passionate about maintaining a focus on trying to make the world a better place somehow, so hoping to be able to get that opportunity.”

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Main image: Mercedes Muñoz (Photo: Lucas Bellaiche)