Computing Resilient Identity Development and Maintenance of Black Americans Who Earned A Ph.D. in Computing

This Research Full Paper presents a qualitative interview and descriptive study on computing resilient identity development of African Americans who have earned a Ph.D. in a computing field. Low sense of belonging and self-efficacy contributes to low participation and performance of African Americans have lower participation and performance in computing as compared to their White and Asian counterparts. Computing identity including sense of belonging and self-efficacy contributes to this deficit. To increase African American successful representation in computing, resilience is explored to identify the support systems, challenges, and coping processes of African Americans who have earned a Ph.D. in computing. In depth, semi-structured interviews of African American post-docs, faculty, and industry researchers in computing fields were implemented. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were analyzed with a hybrid inductive-deductive qualitative content analysis. Surveys were employed to document participants' work resilience and personality to supplement the qualitative data. Results include the resilient identity development of participants by reciting background information, challenges and support systems in their respective employment, and how they react to such stressors and supports, and the productive they are while persevering. Findings from this work can be used to improve academia and industry conditions for African American professionals and to identify resources that were suggested to be pivotal in participants' resilient identity development within the computing field. This paper is in conjunction with other papers in an extended case study on resilient identity development in African American computer scientists.