A Comparison of STEM Students’ Perseverant Capital From the Community Cultural Wealth Framework in Alma Reflective Journaling Before and After COVID-19
Kirsten Wong, Allyson Bernarte, Nada Elshaer, Phuong Ly, Aline Montserrat Moran Almarazh
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Kim Coble
San Francisco State University, one of the most diverse public universities in the U.S., with ~80% students of color, is committed to inclusive education. Within this context, the Alma Project, introduced in 2018, fosters inclusive learning environments in STEM using reflective journaling to center students’ experiences, allowing them to reflect on and affirm their values, identities, and goals. Thousands of reflections collected across conceptual physics, general physics, calculus-based physics, and conceptual astronomy lab courses have been analyzed using a community cultural wealth framework. Capitals include: attainment, aspirational, community consciousness, spiritual, social, familial, filial piety, first-generation, navigational, resistance, and perseverant capital. In this work, comparing COVID-era and post-COVID responses showed evolving expressions of perseverance, leading to a refined and expanded definition within our framework. By analyzing the differences and similarities between responses from the two different time periods, different subcategories of perseverant capital emerged. This expanded understanding can allow for more effective support for students by aligning instructional practices with their evolving experiences.