College Student Persistence in Scientific Disciplines: Cultural and Social Capital as Contributing Factors

Underrepresentation of women of color in science majors and careers continues to be a concern for many science educators. Despite being the fastest growing population of college students, women of color have made insufficient gains in college science degree attainment. Sixteen women of color who were undergraduates majoring in a science field participated in three-part, in-depth interviews. Prominent factors associated with persistence as a science major included academic preparation for college science, faculty support, important school science experiences, family support, science support programs, altruistic beliefs, and the importance of religion. This study examined the data using current persistence theories as well as exploring the role of cultural and social capital as sources for support and motivation.

     

What a Scientist Looks Like: How Community Colleges Can Utilize and Enhance Science Identity Development as a Means to Improve Success for Women of Color

ABSTRACT

This article explores the application of science identity development theory for women of color interested in the science disciplines; and it advocates for taking an intersectional approach to understanding how women of color form science identities. The article also challenges community college administrators and scholars to focus on redefining science identity development theory within the community college setting as a means to enhance success for women of color pursuing academic work in scientific disciplines.     

Traveling the road to success: A discourse on persistence throughout the science pipeline with African American students at a predominantly white institution

This study focuses on 11 African American undergraduate seniors in a biology degree program at a predominantly white research institution in the southeastern United States. These 11 respondents shared their journeys throughout the high school and college science pipeline. Participants described similar precollege factors and experiences that contributed to their academic success and persistence at a predominantly white institution. One of the most critical factors in their academic persistence was participation in advanced science and mathematics courses as part of their high school college preparatory program. Additional factors that had a significant impact on their persistence and academic success were family support, teacher encouragement, intrinsic motivation, and perseverance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Qualitative Exploration of Autonomy and Engagement for Young Women of Color in Community College

Given the nationwide concern about college persistence and graduation rates, this article reviews pertinent literature related to autonomous learning as well as social and academic engagement. It also presents findings of a qualitative study of young community college women of color, an understudied population. The article, part of a larger research project that explores the obstacles faced by young women of color, describes their experiences related to academic and social engagement and self-determination in the community-college setting. Data were collected from 15 focus groups with a total of 61 Latina, Black, and Asian women between the ages of 18 and 24 on three community college campuses in a large northeastern city in the United States. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that young women of color demonstrate a compelling determination to complete college autonomously and, to a lesser degree, are willing to engage socially and academically. The findings prompt the suggestion that academic and student affairs professionals create opportunities to develop autonomous learning strategies that can be nested within academic and social engagement activities.     

Bye bye Ms. American Sci: Women and the leaky STEM pipeline

More than two-thirds of STEM jobs are held by men. In this paper, I provide a detailed analysis of the STEM pipeline from high school to mid-career in the United States, decomposing the gender gap in STEM into six stages. Women are lost from STEM before college, during college, and after college. Men are more likely to be STEM-ready before college, scoring higher on science tests and having taken more advanced math and science courses. This accounts for 35% of the overall gender gap in STEM careers. During college, men are far more likely than women to start in a STEM major, accounting for 26% of the gap. After college, male STEM graduates are more likely to enter STEM jobs, accounting for 41%. Men’s higher persistence in STEM majors is a smaller factor, while women attend college at higher rates than men, which works to reduce the final gender gap in STEM. The results show that there is no single stage to focus on in understanding the gender gap in STEM.     

Religion as a Support Factor for Women of Color Pursuing Science Degrees: Implications for Science Teacher Educators

This study explores the influence of religion as a support factor for a group of Latina and African-American women majoring in science. The current project is a part of a larger study that investigated persistence factors of underrepresented woman who were enrolled as science majors at United States colleges and universities. This paper focuses on one theme that emerged among six participants who disclosed how religion was a significant influence on their persistence in science fields. The strength and support offered by religious values is certainly not specific to science content; however, the support received from their beliefs highlights a potential area for further exploration. Given the importance of increasing participation by students from diverse backgrounds into science fields, it is critical to recognize how some of these differences may be the key factors influencing the way these students look at the world. This study offers evidence that science educators need to consider what role religious beliefs have for students who may be considering science or science education as a future career, particularly for those students from underrepresented groups.     

“I think at first glance people would not expect me to be interested in science”: Exploring the racialized science experiences of high school students of color

The underrepresentation of high school students of color in advanced science courses and the need to increase racial diversity in science fields is well documented. The persistence of racial disparities in science suggests that factors influencing participation include and extend beyond those currently being explored. This study explores how high school students of color make sense of racialized narratives about who does and can do science in circulation in society and their lives, and how this shapes their positioning and identity construction in science. Using interviews and surveys this study examines youths' accounts of their racialized science experiences, including how they envision scientists, make sense of racial disparities in the science community, and navigate their positioning in science. In addition, this study examines how youths' sense of their science ability, as a salient aspect of science identity, shapes the forms of navigation accessible to them, and thus, the futures they imagine in science. By sharing the complexity of students' sense making and the tensions they express as they negotiate their personal goals, science experiences, and messages they receive from racialized narratives, findings highlight the disproportionate work youth of color in this study do, as well as their resilience to navigate racialized narratives in science. This research sheds light on the experiences of high school students of color at a time in their schooling when they are making decisions about who they can become and the possible futures available to them. Implications from this study promote centering race within a critical, sociocultural, and ecological context when exploring identity construction for youth of color in science. Furthermore, findings underscore the need to create learning experiences that provide opportunities for youth of color to author narratives for their own possibilities of belonging and becoming in science in order to support inclusive pathways.     

Comprehensive Cocurricular Support Promotes Persistence of Community College STEM Students

ABSTRACT

Despite good career prospects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, persistence of students in STEM fields of study at the community college and transfer to universities to pursue STEM majors is often quite low. Theories of persistence emphasize the importance of engagement, integration, validation, and financial assistance. The DCCCD STEM Institute is a comprehensive cocurricular program for community college STEM students. It illustrates the application of persistence theories in a multicollege urban district with a diverse student body. The STEM Institute uses a student/faculty cohort model with mentoring, professional skills programming, and scholarship support to transform student perceptions of themselves, integrate them into a STEM educational community, and validate their membership within that community. Institute membership also reduces isolation and financial concerns as potential barriers to persistence. STEM faculty also participate in professional skill development through a cross-college and cross-disciplinary cohort. Data on students who participated in the DCCCD STEM Institute from 2010 through 2014 show that 92% remain in a STEM educational or career pathway. Important practice implications for community college professionals include (1) forming student and faculty cohorts, (2) facilitating the development of mentoring relationships, (3) providing adequate centralized staffing, and (4) integrating resources and opportunities into a unified cocurricular program.     

Systemizing and the gender gap: examining academic achievement and perseverance in STEM

For years, a popular explanation for women choosing to abandon studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been their lack of aptitude. This study challenged that notion by integrating theories of cognitive style, academic emotion, self-efficacy, and motivation to explain students’ academic achievement and perseverance in STEM when transitioning to college. A sample of 1597 high school and junior college students participated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were first conducted to validate a reduced version of the cognitive style questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that the cognitive style known as systemizing indirectly predicted STEM achievement and persistence by way of intrinsic motivation, learning anxiety, and self-efficacy, providing a new perspective for re-examining the gender gap in STEM.

     

Understanding the science experiences of successful women of color: Science identity as an analytic lens

In this study, we develop a model of science identity to make sense of the science experiences of 15 successful women of color over the course of their undergraduate and graduate studies in science and into science‐related careers. In our view, science identity accounts both for how women make meaning of science experiences and how society structures possible meanings. Primary data included ethnographic interviews during students' undergraduate careers, follow‐up interviews 6 years later, and ongoing member‐checking. Our results highlight the importance of recognition by others for women in the three science identity trajectories: research scientist; altruistic scientist; and disrupted scientist. The women with research scientist identities were passionate about science and recognized themselves and were recognized by science faculty as science people. The women with altruistic scientist identities regarded science as a vehicle for altruism and created innovative meanings of “science,” “recognition by others,” and “woman of color in science.” The women with disrupted scientist identities sought, but did not often receive, recognition by meaningful scientific others. Although they were ultimately successful, their trajectories were more difficult because, in part, their bids for recognition were disrupted by the interaction with gendered, ethnic, and racial factors. This study clarifies theoretical conceptions of science identity, promotes a rethinking of recruitment and retention efforts, and illuminates various ways women of color experience, make meaning of, and negotiate the culture of science. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1187–1218, 2007     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT ON STUDENT MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND STEM CAREER ATTAINMENT

The lack of females entering STEM careers is well documented. Reasons for the gender gaps at all stages of the educational pipeline include both internal factors such as self-concept and external factors such as the influence of parents, media, and educators. Using latent growth curve analysis and nationally representative longitudinal survey data, this study compares differences in the relationship between a critical external factor (perceived early parental support), student mathematics and science achievement trajectories, and persistence in STEM career by gender. Mathematics and science trajectories were positively related to STEM career persistence for males and females. Perceived early parental support was related to growth in mathematics achievement for males but not females. There was no relationship between early perceived parental support and growth in science achievement for either males or females. These findings indicate differences in the relationship between parental support, achievement, and career persistence depending on content area and gender.     

Increasing Persistence in Undergraduate Science Majors: A Model for Institutional Support of Underrepresented Students

The 6-yr degree-completion rate of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors at U.S. colleges and universities is less than 40%. Persistence among women and underrepresented minorities (URMs), including African-American, Latino/a, Native American, and Pacific Islander students, is even more troubling, as these students leave STEM majors at significantly higher rates than their non-URM peers. This study utilizes a matched comparison group design to examine the academic achievement and persistence of students enrolled in the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), an academic support program at the University of California, Los Angeles, for first- and second-year science majors from underrepresented backgrounds. Results indicate that PEERS students, on average, earned higher grades in most “gatekeeper” chemistry and math courses, had a higher cumulative grade point average, completed more science courses, and persisted in a science major at significantly higher rates than the comparison group. With its holistic approach focused on academics, counseling, creating a supportive community, and exposure to research, the PEERS program serves as an excellent model for universities interested in and committed to improving persistence of underrepresented science majors and closing the achievement gap.     

The Operation of Bureaus of Educational Research–With Particular Reference to Wisconsin

ABSTRACT

Advanced mathematics and science coursetaking is critical in building the foundation for students to advance through the STEM pathway—from high school to college to career. To invigorate students’ persistence in STEM fields, high schools have been introducing applied STEM courses into the curriculum as a way to reinforce concepts learned in traditional mathematics and science classes and to motivate students’ interests in a long-term pursuit of these areas. The author examines the role of taking applied STEM courses early in high school on taking advanced mathematics and science courses later in high school. The results suggest a positive link between early applied STEM coursetaking and later advanced mathematics and science coursetaking—one that is delineated by specific type of applied STEM course and by individual-level demographic characteristics. The findings of this study thus support policymakers and practitioners’ efforts to expand the STEM curriculum beyond traditional subjects. Continuing to do so may be one way to expand the number of students persisting in STEM.     

How Does Identity Shape the Experiences of Women of Color Engineering Students?

This study seeks to understand the experiences of women of color engineering students who persist and identify some of the dilemmas they face. Evidence emerged that students formulate multiple identities to help them persist in their engineering programs. We assess the role that identity plays in the experiences of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) women of color. This paper applies a multiple identities framework and presents students' experiences through the lenses of three emergent identities: academic, social, and intellectual. We discuss possible implications of the findings for academic and social support programs in higher education. We also identify some implications for precollege instruction.     

Perceived science ability as a factor in the course selections of men and women in college

It was hypothesized in this study that men and women develop a belief about their ability in science during their school years that is based in part on their participation in certain science courses and on their level of performance in those courses. This belief about their ability in turn affects the science decisions that these students make when they enter college. Students who believe they have ability in science are more likely to choose a science curriculum in college than those who do not. The results indicated that even though their performance in high school science was better than that of the men, women in this study rated their ability in science lower, and that this had a negative effect on later participation in college science.     

Teaching science to transgress: Portraits of feminist praxis

Drawing from intersectional feminist scholarship, we communicate how Salina and Marelis, both women of color, teach science for social justice in the face of significant institutional challenges. Theorizing from their experiences and practices, we articulate a feminist praxis for school science, which includes (1) building community and collectivist orientations, (2) cultivating joy from/within the margins, (3) naming and dismantling inequities, and (4) repositioning students—practices that have profound implications for improving the school science experiences of underrepresented students in science, including girls of color and other marginalized students. Finally, we highlight the ways in which women of color negotiate, repurpose, and transform institutional and disciplinary barriers to reimagine the world(s) of school science.     

Characteristics of male and female students who experienced success or failure in their first college science course

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of success for male and female students in their first collegiate science course. The factors that were examined included the personality variables of persistence, future orientation, and the tendency toward reckless and rash behavior, as well as cognitive attributions for success and failure. In addition, two scales from the Omnibus Personality Inventory that focused on the direction of a student's academic orientation were examined for their relationship to science achievement. Level of success x gender ANOV As showed no interactions for cognitive attributions or for the direction of academic orientation. Interactions for persistence, reckless and rash behavior, and future orientation indicated that these factors were more important to the science success of women than to that of men.