Transcript What Matters in College for Retaining Aspiring Scientists

What Matters in College for Retaining
Aspiring Scientists and Engineers?
Mitchell Chang
Jessica Sharkness
Christopher Newman
Sylvia Hurtado
Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA
2010 AERA Annual Meeting
Friday, April 30 – Tuesday, May 4
Denver, Colorado
Background

U.S. Employment in STEM Demographics
3.9% 4.5%
White
Asian American
Black
Latino
17.2%
77.3%
National Science Foundation, 2009
Background

Persistence in STEM:
Percentage of 2004 STEM aspirants who
completed STEM degrees within five years
50.0%
42.0%
40.0%
33.0%
30.0%
18.4%
20.0%
22.1%
10.0%
0.0%
White
Asian
American
Higher Education Research Institute, 2010
Black
Latino
Previous Research
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Academic preparation
Financial need
Joining a pre-professional or departmental
club
Family support, role models, and mentors
Structured research programs
Conceptual Model
Pre-College
Factors &
Pull-Factors
Initial
Commitments
Pre-College Ability
Final
Commitments
Persistence
Formal/Inform
al Academics
with Faculty
Psychosocial
Factors
Financial
Assist/Need
Academic &
Social
Experiences
Educational
Aspirations
Encouragement &
Support
Environmental Pull
Factors
Social
Experiences
Educational
Goal
Campus
Climates
Institutional
Commitment
Validating
Experiences
Mentoring
Experiences
Adapted from Nora, Barlow, Crisp (2005)
Reenrollment
in Higher
Education
Institution
Research Questions

Among all students who started college
with an interest in majoring in a STEM
field, are there significant differences in the
proportion of URM students (versus
Whites and Asians) who follow through on
these intentions?

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If so, are these differences moderated by
college experiences?
What factors contribute to the STEM major
persistence of URM students?
Data
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Data Source and Sample:

Longitudinal data: 2004 CIRP Freshman Survey & 2008
CIRP Senior Survey
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3,670 students overall
1,634 URM students (812 Latino, 626 Black, 196 Native
American)
Dependent Variable (“STEM persistence”):
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Students followed through with first-year intentions to major
in STEM field (1), student switched to another major (0)
STEM persistence, by race
100%
80%
73.5%
63.5%
62.8%
58.9%
56.5%
White
Native
American
Latino/a
Black/ African
American
60%
40%
20%
0%
Asian/ Pacific
Islander
Analyses
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Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling
(HGLM)
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Two stages of analyses:
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Appropriate for multi-level data with dichotomous
outcome
1. HGLM analysis of student-level predictors of STEM
persistence for all-student sample, focusing on
significance of race effects
2. HGLM analysis of student and institution-level
predictors of STEM persistence for URM students only
Significant predictors reported as delta-p (Δ-p)
statistics
Results: Research Question 1
Are there significant differences in the proportion of URM students
(versus Whites/Asians) who follow through on STEM major intentions?
Model 1
Model 2
No
No
Latino/a
Yes (-)
No
Black/African American
Yes (-)
No
Race Main Effects
Native American
Blocks of variables included in the model:
Gender, mother’s ed.
X
College Experiences

X
X
Latinos, Blacks significantly less likely to persist
in STEM (vs. Asians & Whites) when only
demographics are considered
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Effect is moderated by college experiences
Results: Research Question 2
What factors contribute to the STEM major persistence of URM
students?
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Only significant predictors shown
Student-Level Predictors
Delta-P
High School Academic Preparation/Pre-College Characteristics
Math + Verbal SAT score (100-pt increments)
6.8%
Academic Self-Concept
1.0%
Social Self-Concept
-0.8%
Aspire to medical degree (vs. Bachelor’s)
-11.5%
College Experiences
Participated in undergrad research program
17.4%
Studied with other students
13.6%
Joined club/org. related to major
9.3%
Faculty interaction (factor)
-6.8%
Worked full-time while in school
-9.7%
Results: Research Question 2
What factors uniquely contribute to the STEM major persistence of
URM students?
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Only significant predictors shown
Institution-Level Predictors
Delta-P
Institutional Characteristics
Institutional Selectivity (100-pt increments)
-13.0%
Percent of students majoring in STEM (10-point increments)
5.57%
Model Statistics
Explained variance at Level 2
0.69
Baseline probability of STEM major persistence
0.58
Discussion

Experiences in college and college
contexts can have a significant influence
on student persistence in STEM majors,
above and beyond high school preparation
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Sponsored Research Programs (MARC,
MBRS, etc.)
Studying with other students
Institutional Selectivity
Proportion of students majoring in STEM
Contact Information
Faculty and Co-PIs:
Sylvia Hurtado
Mitchell Chang
Postdoctoral Scholars:
Kevin Eagan
Josephine Gasiewski
Administrative Staff:
Aaron Pearl
Graduate Research Assistants:
Monica Lin
Cindy Mosqueda
Christopher Newman
Gina Garcia
Juan Garibay
Minh Tran
Felisha Herrera
Jessica Sharkness
Papers and reports are available for download
from project website:
http://heri.ucla.edu/nih
Project e-mail: [email protected]
Acknowledgments: This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of
General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Numbers 1 R01 GMO71968-01 and R01
GMO71968-05 as well as the National Science Foundation, NSF Grant Number 0757076.
This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by
the sponsors.