Supporting Students' Intentions to Persist in STEM Disciplines: The Role of Living-Learning Programs Among Other Social-Cognitive Factors

Soldner, Matthew; Rowan-Kenyon, Heather T.; Inkelas, Karen Kurotsuchi; Garvey, Jason C.; Robbins, Claire K.

doi:10.1353/jhe.2012.0017

Cited by 87 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Multiple researchers emphasized the importance of peer group interaction and mentoring to women of color in STEM (e.g., Espinosa, ; Guevara, ; Leyva, ; Ong et al, ) but noted students’ difficulty in finding others with whom to identify; as a result, students often kept separate their STEM peers and friends with whom they socialized (Tate & Linn, ). Other scholars noted the importance of a richly supportive, as opposed to competitive, learning environment for students of color (Ko et al, ; Palmer et al, ; Perna, Gasman, Gary, Lundy‐Wagner, & Drezner, ; Soldner, Rowan‐Kenyon, Inkelas, Garvey, & Robbins, ) and emphasized that women of color were more likely to persist in STEM if they were recognized by, or mentored by, meaningful others in STEM, such as faculty, whether or not they shared the same race/ethnicity or gender (Ellington, ; Johnson et al, ; MacLachlan, ; Ong, ; Perna et al, ; Whitten et al, ). Finally, research showed that women of color, and students of color in general, tended to persist in STEM if they became involved in academic organizations such as STEM student campus groups or national diversity STEM associations (Chang et al, ; Espinosa, ; Garcia & Hurtado, ; Ong et al, ).…”

Section: Literature Review and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success

Ong¹,

Smith²,

Ko³

2017

J Res Sci Teach

418

398

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Counterspaces in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are often considered "safe spaces" at the margins for groups outside the mainstream of STEM education. The prevailing culture and structural manifestations in STEM have traditionally privileged norms of success that favor competitive, individualistic, and solitary practices-norms associated with White male scientists. This privilege extends to structures that govern learning and mark progress in STEM education that have marginalized groups that do not reflect the gender, race, or ethnicity conventionally associated with STEM mainstream success, thus necessitating spaces in which the effects of marginalization may be countered. Women of color is one such marginalized group. This article explores the struggles of women of color that threaten their persistence in STEM education and how those struggles lead them to search out or create counterspaces. It also examines the ways that counterspaces operate for women of color in STEM higher education, particularly how they function as havens from isolation and microaggressions. Using a framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and intersectionality theory and drawing on interview data from 39 women of color about their STEM higher education experiences, we describe five ways in which counterspaces operate: in peer-to-peer relationships; mentoring relationships; national STEM diversity conferences; STEM and non-STEM campus student groups; and STEM departments. Whereas most research has discussed counterspaces as racially or ethnically homogeneous social grou'ps of peers at the margins, our research found that counterspaces vary in terms of the race/ethnicity, gender, and power levels of participants. We found that counterspaces can be physical settings, as well as conceptual and ideological. Additionally, we identified counterspaces both at the margins and at the center of STEM departments. Thus, our research expands the existing understanding of the types and functions of counterspaces and broadens the definition of what locations can be and should be considered counterspaces.

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Section: Literature Review and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success

Ong¹,

Smith²,

Ko³

2017

J Res Sci Teach

418

398

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This model has previously been applied to study student interest and pursuit of STEM fields (e.g., Chakraverty & Tai, ; Soldner, Rowan‐Kenyon, & Inkelas, ), especially among students from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences (e.g., da Silva Cardoso, Dutta & Chiu, ; Deemer, Thoman, & Chase, ; Lent, Miller, & Smith, ) or otherwise vulnerable, as in low‐income first generation college students (Garriott, Flores, & Martens, ). Lent and his colleagues () explored the career interests and goals of students in introductory engineering courses at both predominantly White and historically Black colleges, finding that measures of SCCT components were predictive of interests and goals in engineering.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Da Silva Cardosso et al () found that a regression model based on SCCT did identify predictors of STEM career goals. SCCT has also been used to study and describe contextual factors related to STEM career persistence and, where possible, tease out mechanisms of action such as community‐building interventions (Soldner et al, ) or stereotype threat (Deemer et al, ).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultivating minority scientists: Undergraduate research increases self-efficacy and career ambitions for underrepresented students in STEM

et al. 2016

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In this study, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) is used to explore changes in the career intentions of students in an undergraduate research experience (URE) program at a large public minorityserving college. Our URE model addresses the challenges of establishing an undergraduate research program within an urban, commuter, underfunded, Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). However, our model reaches beyond a focus on retention and remediation toward scholarly contributions and shifted career aspirations. From a student's first days at the College to beyond their graduation, we have encouraged them to explore their own potential as scientists in a coordinated, sequential, and self-reflective process. As a result, while the program's graduates have traditionally pursued entry-level STEM jobs, graduates participating in mentored research are increasingly focused on professional and academic STEM career tracks involving post-graduate study. In addition to providing an increasingly expected experience and building students' skills, participation in undergraduate research is seen to have a transformative effect on career ambitions for many students at MSIs. While undergraduate research is often thought of in context of majority-serving institutions, we propose that it serves as a powerful equalizer at MSIs. Building on the institutional characteristics that drive diversity, our students produce scholarly work and pursue graduate degrees, in order to address the long-standing under-representation of minorities in the sciences. # 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54: 2017 Keywords: undergraduate research; urban education; self-efficacy; science; title V Despite substantial advances and extensive efforts to bridge the divide, significant gaps remain between the educational attainment of minority students and their majority peers (Kao & Thompson, 2003; Viadero & Johnston, 2000). One area of particular concern is in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate, professional opportunities in STEM fields are expected to grow by some 12.5% between 2012 and 2022, a faster rate than non-STEM fields ( U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, 2012; Vilorio, 2014). Yet Blacks and Latinos each make up only 6% of the STEM workforce, even though Blacks represent 12.3% and Latinos 17% of the U.S. population Santiago, Taylor, & Calderon, 2015). This phenomenon "represents an unconscionable underutilization of our nation's human capital and raises concerns of equity in the U.S. educational and employment systems" (Ong, Wright, Espinoza, & Orfield, 2011, p. 172).In the late 1990s, we, a leading minority-and Hispanic-serving institution in the Northeastern United States, were faced with a related conundrum-while institutional enrollments in science were defying national trends and increasing, graduation rates were poor, and in fact had stagnated, resulting in a net decrease in retention over time. By the year 2000, there were over 500...

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“…Few intervention studies seek to specifically influence variables in the SCCT model. One study (Soldner, Rowan‐Kenyon, Inkelas, Garvey, & Robbins, ) in engineering used SCCT to consider the effect of living‐learning communities on student intent to persist in STEM. While STEM‐focused living‐learning environments had no direct effect on student intention to persist, the living‐learning environment had a positive indirect effect on student intentions to persist through the social cognitive variables.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Social Cognitive Career Theory to Assess Student Outcomes of Group Design Projects in Statics

Atadero

Rambo‐Hernandez

Balgopal

2014

J of Engineering Edu

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Background Engineering programs strive to retain students and prepare them for engineering careers. Introducing group design projects into courses may help keep students interested while also improving their learning outcomes. Purpose/Hypothesis This study measures differences in student content knowledge and intention to persist in engineering between an intervention section with group design projects and a comparison section without. We hypothesized that students in the intervention section would show an increase in both outcomes that could be demonstrated with structural equation models based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT). Design/Method Intervention and comparison sections of a statics course were taught by the same instructor with predominately lectures. Students in the intervention section participated in three group design projects that supplemented the course content. All students took pre‐tests and post‐tests that assessed statics content knowledge and variables in SCCT. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results The use of projects did not result in higher self‐efficacy, outcome expectations, content knowledge, or intention to persist for students in the intervention. However, for students in the intervention section, there were strong positive relationships between self‐efficacy and outcome expectations and between intention to persist and content knowledge that were not demonstrated in the comparison section. Conclusions By using SCCT to model how students develop into engineers, we could detect the effect of introducing projects into a statics course. Connections formed by students in the intervention section between their own abilities, goals, and success in engineering demonstrate that group design projects do benefit students.

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Supporting Students' Intentions to Persist in STEM Disciplines: The Role of Living-Learning Programs Among Other Social-Cognitive Factors

Cited by 87 publications

References 32 publications

Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success

Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success

Cultivating minority scientists: Undergraduate research increases self-efficacy and career ambitions for underrepresented students in STEM

Using Social Cognitive Career Theory to Assess Student Outcomes of Group Design Projects in Statics

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