New Study Examines How Educators and Advisors Support HMoob Students in STEM Amid Changing Political Climate

August 17, 2026   |   By Katie Grant, Office of Research & Scholarship Communications

Researchers from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education and partner Universities of Wisconsin campuses have published new findings that explore how instructors and advisors support HMoob (Hmong)* students in STEM fields amid changing political and institutional conditions.

The new study, “Researching, Advising, and Teaching During Precarious Times: Insights from a Racial Equity in STEM Education Research Project,” published in the ADVANCE Journal, examines the experiences of educators and advisors working to support HMoob students and other historically marginalized students in higher education, offering insight into the challenges, tensions, and opportunities shaping student success in STEM fields today. Researchers drew on interviews with STEM instructors and advisors across four Universities of Wisconsin campuses, as well as reflections from members of the research team.

The study is part of the National Science Foundation-funded Our HMoob American College Paj Ntaub project, a long-running collaboration between researchers and HMoob American student leaders that seeks to better understand and improve the educational experiences of HMoob students in higher education. Over the course of the project, researchers have conducted surveys and interviews across Wisconsin campuses while working closely with students as research partners.

Using interviews with 31 instructors and advisors, the researchers identified three major themes:

• Some STEM educators expressed uncertainty or reluctance about discussing the role of race and inequality in STEM education, a pattern the researchers describe as “racial naivete.”
• Advisors frequently took on additional emotional and interpersonal labor to help students navigate academic and institutional challenges, a practice researchers characterize as a “racial care ethic.”
• Many participants described exercising caution when discussing issues related to inclusion, equity, and justice, reflecting what the study calls “anticipatory self-censorship.”

The findings suggest that educators remain committed to supporting students, even as conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice have become increasingly politicized. The authors argue that understanding the experiences of instructors and advisors is an important part of understanding student outcomes.

“Instructors and advisors work with students as part of the higher education ecosystem. While students are impacted by those interactions, instructors and advisors themselves are impacted by campus, state, and federal policies related to how they teach, conduct research, and manage workloads,” said Kong Pheng Pha, a co-principal investigator on the project and associate professor of Gender & Women’s Studies and Asian American Studies at UW–Madison. “In the current climate in which many aspects of higher education have become politicized, the ways in which instructors and advisors interface with students are more important than ever.”

The study builds on previous research conducted by the Paj Ntaub team documenting how HMoob students can encounter barriers in STEM programs, including racial microaggressions, competitive academic cultures, and institutional practices that contribute to students leaving STEM majors or, in some cases, higher education altogether. This latest journal article shifts the focus to the educators and advisors who work directly with students and the challenges they face in providing support.

Researchers also note in the article that HMoob students are often overlooked in broader conversations about Asian American educational experiences. The project seeks to increase understanding of the unique experiences, strengths and challenges of HMoob students while generating research that can inform institutional practice.

“Participatory approaches to education research ground the research questions, methods, and goals within the experiences, histories, and concerns of the community,” said Matthew Wolfgram, co-principal investigator for the project and an anthropologist of education and education researcher at WCER. “Some of the scholars and educators featured in our paper engage in care and support for their minoritized students, which have become acts of everyday resistance to racial injustice in higher education. Despite the current climate, such everyday resistance on the part of educators is both needed and hopeful for an alternative future.”

The authors say the findings contribute to growing conversations about how colleges and universities can create conditions that support student belonging, persistence, and success, particularly for populations that have historically received less attention in higher education research.

* The research team uses the spelling “HMoob,” in place of “Hmong,” to acknowledge the many dialects of the language. Both spellings are pronounced the same.

About the Researchers

The study was authored by Kong Pheng Pha, Matthew Wolfgram, Bailey B. Smolarek, Stacey J. Lee, Chundou Her, Choua P. Xiong, and Mai Neng Vang.

About Our HMoob American College Paj Ntaub

Out HMoob American College Paj Ntaub is an ongoing qualitative participatory action research project conducted in partnership with a student organization at UW–Madison called the HMoob American Studies/Student Committee (HMASC) that examines the sociocultural and institutional factors impacting the college experiences of HMoob American students. The term “Paj Ntaub,” or story cloth, is a narrative pictographic representation in fabric of the experiences of the HMoob people, which often address their history during the U.S. wars in Southeast Asia and as refugees. Learn more on the group’s website.

About the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER)

WCER at UW–Madison’s #1-ranked School of Education is one of the world’s oldest and most productive education research centers. It has assisted scholars and practitioners in developing, submitting, conducting and sharing grant-funded education research for over 60 years. Visit wcer.wisc.edu for more information.