Figure 1
Guiding Framework for Data Analysis. This figure visualizes that four STARS pillars facilitate participants to create a counterspace and enact three foundational counterspace elements.
Table 1
Participant Race/ Ethnicity. This table outlines the race/ ethicity of students who took part in a focus group.
| COUNT | PORTION OF PARTICIPANTS | |
|---|---|---|
| Asian American/ Asian Only | 19 | 33% |
| Black Only | 5 | 9% |
| Latino/a/x/e Only | 13 | 22% |
| Middle Eastern/North African Only | 2 | 3% |
| White Only | 8 | 14% |
| Multiracial | 7 | 12% |
| No Response | 4 | 7% |
Figure 2
Guiding Framework for Understanding STARS Counterspaces. This figure visualizes how four program pillars facilitate participants to create counterspaces at multiple levels of nested aggregation and enact three foundational counterspace elements.
| ID | PARENT ID | DEPTH | TITLE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Academic Outcomes | Any mention of academic outcomes associated with the STARS program/UW Experience. | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Academic Performance | Any mention of GPA increasing or decreasing. |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | Coding Skills | Any mention of STARS students learning to code. |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | Help With Work | Any mention of support providing help with work. |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | Preparation for Courses | Any mention of preparing or becoming well prepared for current/ future courses. |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | Problem Solving/Learning | Any mention of increased problem- solving skill and any emphasis on learning. |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | Study Skills | Any mention of increased study skills. |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | Time Management Skills | Any mention of improved time management skills. |
| 9 | 0 | Additional Agreement | Includes agreement for things that are not otherwise coded, verbal or non-verbal in nature. | |
| 10 | 0 | Additional Outcomes | Any mention of additional benefits/ drawbacks. | |
| 11 | 10 | 1 | Collaboration Skills | Any discussion about learning to collaborate. |
| 12 | 10 | 1 | Emotional Support | Any mention of receiving emotional support from STARS community. |
| 13 | 10 | 1 | Life Support/Connection | Any mention of life support from STARS community, this can include learning life skills like doing taxes, instrumental support (e.g., bringing food, sharing homework), and non-school community. |
| 14 | 10 | 1 | Smooth Transition to/through College | Any mention of the STARS program streamlining transition into/through college. This includes comments related to suggestions that the student would not have been at UW without the STARS program. |
| 15 | 0 | Assessment | Any assessment of an aspect of the STARS program or another feature of the students’ experiences at UW. | |
| 16 | 15 | 1 | Negative/ Unhelpful/ Uncomfortable | Any description of an aspect of the STARS/ UW experience as negative or unhelpful for the student(s). |
| 17 | 15 | 1 | Neutral | Any description of an aspect of the STARS/ UW experience as neutral. |
| 18 | 15 | 1 | Positive/ Helpful / Comfortable | Any description of an aspect of the STARS/ UW experience as positive or helpful for the student(s). |
| 19 | 0 | 2019-2020 Cohort | Any comment by a person from the 2019–2020 cohort to identify comments from students further removed from the program. | |
| 20 | 0 | Community & Belonging | Any discussion of students’ sense of community/ belonging in STARS/ at UW. | |
| 21 | 20 | 1 | Additional Friendship | Any mention of friendships at UW that are not related to STARS or another formal group. |
| 22 | 21 | 2 | Friendship Through STARS | Any mention of additional friendships through the STARS network. |
| 23 | 20 | 1 | Strong Outside Community | Any mention of communities/ organizations outside of STARS that cultivate a strong(er) sense of community. |
| 24 | 20 | 1 | Strong STARS Community | Any mention of a strong(er) sense of community within STARS. This can include discussions about things like trust. |
| 25 | 24 | 2 | Across Cohorts | Any mention of strong community across cohorts. |
| 26 | 24 | 2 | Cohort-Specific | Any discussion of a strong(er) cohort-specific community. |
| 27 | 24 | 2 | Strongest Community | Any mention of STARS as a space where students experience their STRONGEST sense of community. |
| 28 | 20 | 1 | UW Student Groups | Any mention of UW groups students are a part of outside of STARS, including race/ethnicity-based affinity groups, religious groups, academic groups, gym membership, etc. |
| 29 | 20 | 1 | Weak/ No Outside Community | Any mention of communities/organizations outside of STARS that are either present but represent weak(er) ties or not present. |
| 30 | 20 | 1 | Weak/er STARS Community | Any mention of a weak(er) sense of community within STARS. This can include discussions about things like trust. |
| 31 | 0 | Community Cultural Wealth | Any discussion that points to forms of community cultural wealth that students may have, develop, or access. | |
| 32 | 0 | Covid-19 | Any mention of the influence of Covid-19 on student experience | |
| 33 | 0 | Diversity | Any mention of how diversity (racial/ gender) in STARS has made students more comfortable working in a traditionally White/male dominated field. | |
| 34 | 0 | Feature of STARS Program | Any mention of a specific aspect of the STARS program. | |
| 35 | 34 | 1 | STARS Staff/ Faculty Intrusive Advising or Other Support | Any mention of support from an individual or group – including staff proactively contacting students (“intrusive advising”). |
| 36 | 34 | 1 | Personal & Professional Development | Any mention of the STARS programming focused on personal and/or professional development. |
| 37 | 34 | 1 | Academic Program/ Intensive Math & Science Curriculum | Any mention of the STARS academic program, including the intensive math and science curriculum. |
| 38 | 34 | 1 | Community Building | Any mention of community building as a part of the STARS program. |
| 39 | 34 | 1 | Strict Program | Any mention of STARS students mentioning the program being strict or inflexible, including rules against joining non-STARS clubs. |
| 40 | 34 | 1 | Model Speakers/ Contacts | Any mention of hearing/ learning from more senior students/ professionals about their pathways. |
| 41 | 34 | 1 | Shared residence | Any mention of STARS required shared living spaces on campus. |
| 42 | 34 | 1 | Skills & Reflection Sessions | Any mention of a course that focuses on professional, life skills (e.g., interviews, taxes), including reflection sessions. |
| 43 | 34 | 1 | Struggle/ Challenging Program | Any mention of struggling with the amount/ level of difficulty of STARS program. |
| 44 | 34 | 1 | Study Groups/Peer Support | Any mention of STARS study groups or any peer support. |
| 44 | 0 | STARS Providing Necessary Resources | Any mention of STARS scholarships, computers, etc. | |
| 45 | 0 | Professional Development Outcomes | Any mention of professional development outcomes related to STARS/UW experience. | |
| 46 | 45 | 1 | Awareness about Field | Any mention of gaining greater awareness of field. |
| 47 | 45 | 1 | Career Fairs | Any mention of career fairs. |
| 48 | 45 | 1 | Conferences | Any mention of conference participation. |
| 49 | 45 | 1 | Internships/ Research Opportunities | Any mention of STARS helping students pursue an internship or research opportunity. |
| 50 | 45 | 1 | Job Prep | Any mention of resume-building, interview preparation, LinkedIn support, etc. that supports pursuing and obtaining a job (outside networking). |
| 51 | 45 | 1 | Networking | Any mention of networking encouraged or facilitated by STARS. |
| 52 | 45 | 1 | Professionalization | Any mention of STARS supporting development of professional behavior (how to interact, write emails, etc.) |
| 53 | 0 | Psychosocial Outcomes | Any mention of psychosocial outcomes of the students’ STARS program/ UW experience. | |
| 54 | 53 | 1 | Certainty about & Interest in Path | Any mention of STARS supporting greater certainty/interest in following (engineering) career path. |
| 55 | 53 | 1 | Confidence/Comfort in Skills | Any mention of STARS influencing self-confidence or greater comfort in own skills/ ability to do things. |
| 56 | 53 | 1 | Growth Mindset | Any mention of learning how to cultivate a growth mindset. |
| 57 | 53 | 1 | Humility | Demonstration or mention of gaining humility. |
| 58 | 53 | 1 | Motivation | Any mention of STARS shaping student motivation. |
| 59 | 53 | 1 | Persistence/grit | Any mention of developing a “never give up” attitude, or similar. |
| 60 | 53 | 1 | Reduced Stress | Any mention of reduced stress about future major (program nearly guarantees access to top choice) or profession. |
| 61 | 53 | 1 | Solidarity | All mentions of instances of feeling solidarity. |
| 62 | 0 | Quote | Any potential quote for the paper. | |
| 63 | 0 | Race/Ethnicity | Noting the participant’s race/ethnicity as they recorded in the Race/Ethnicity Survey. | |
| 64 | 63 | 1 | African American/Black only | Noting participants that identify as African American/Black only. |
| 65 | 63 | 1 | Asian only | Identifies as Asian only in the race/ethnicity survey. |
| 66 | 63 | 1 | Latine only | Noting participants that identify as Latin only. |
| 67 | 63 | 1 | Middle Eastern/North African only | Noting participants that identify as Middle Eastern/North African only. |
| 68 | 63 | 1 | Multi-racial/ethnic | Noting participants that identify as Multi-racial/ethnic. |
| 69 | 63 | 1 | No racial/ethnic identity specified | Noting participants that do not code their racial/ethnic identity. |
| 70 | 63 | 1 | White only | Noting participants that identify as White only. |
| 71 | 0 | Spaces & Places | Any mention of spaces & places on campus. | |
| 72 | 71 | 1 | Big Classes/Big Campus | Any mention of big lecture halls/big campus. |
| 73 | 71 | 1 | Gym | Any mention of the campus gym. |
| 74 | 71 | 1 | Instructional [Tutoring] Center | Any mention of the Instructional Center. |
| 75 | 71 | 1 | Library/Study Rooms | Any mention of libraries or study spaces (e.g., study rooms). |
| 76 | 71 | 1 | Building with STARS Offices | Any mention of the building with STARS or Faculty/Staff Offices. |
| 77 | 71 | 1 | Dorms | Any mention of the engineering dorm or “dorms” in general. |
| 78 | 71 | 1 | Non-STARS Classrooms/Classes | Any mention of classrooms or classes that are not specific to STARS. |
| 79 | 71 | 1 | STARS Classrooms/Classes | Any mention of STARS -specific classrooms or classes. |
| 80 | 71 | 1 | The Ave (Local Street)/Near the Ave | Any mention of the Ave or surrounding area. |
| 81 | 71 | 1 | The Hub (Student Meeting Place on Campus) | Any mention of the Hub. |
| 82 | 71 | 1 | Virtual Spaces | Any mention of virtual spaces. |
| 83 | 71 | 1 | Wherever Friends Are | Any mention of the specific space not mattering as much as the people the participant spends time with. |