The purpose of this phenomenological multi-case study and three-person
interview, was to discover what select prominent African-American scientists perceived
were obstacles to overcome to be successful leaders in their professional lives, and the
opportunities that aided in their professional growth. Through the addition of the threeperson
interview, the researcher discovered commonalities between the perceived
obstacles and opportunities of current science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) professionals and the perceptions of selected historically prominent scientists.
This study examined documents of the period and relics of prominent African-
Americans who were in STEM fields and lived from 1860 to 1968. A description of the
setting that influenced how the scientists perceived the phenomenon was written with the
approach being anchored in the social constructivist tradition. Commonalities emerged
through coding experiences of the individuals, which yielded patterns to help explain the
phenomenon. By investigating their perceptions, insight was gained into understanding the attributes, tools and skills, and tailored experiences that encouraged Thomas Burton,
Kelly Miller, George Carver, Daniel Williams, Matthew Henson, Ernest Just, Charles
Drew, Percy Julian, William Cobb, and Benjamin Peery to achieve success in STEM
fields between 1860 and 1968.
The significance of the study is multifaceted: understanding the obstacles that
African-American scientists had to overcome in their professional lives can result in the
development of science educators who are better informed regarding the appropriate
types of assistance that can be provided to aid their students in overcoming obstacles.
This can hopefully increase their opportunities to succeed within the science field. This
study can result in the development of science educators who are more sensitive in
addressing the needs of the developing minority student, and can encourage, educate, and
enlist more individuals to enter into the dialogue regarding the disparity of minority
representation in STEM fields. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_39794 |
| Contributors | Schmidt, Waweise J. (author), Bryan, Valerie (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 392 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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