What matters in college for retaining aspiring scientists and engineers from underrepresented racial groups

This longitudinal study examined factors that contribute to the persistence of underrepresented racial minority (URM) undergraduates in STEM fields. The primary source of data came from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's 2004 The Freshman Survey (TFS) and 2008 College Senior Survey (CSS). The sample included 3,670 students at 217 institutions who indicated on the TFS that they intended to major in a STEM field, 1,634 of whom were underrepresented minority (URM) students. Findings indicate that Black and Latino undergraduates were significantly less likely to persist in STEM majors than were their White and Asian American counterparts. Background characteristics and college experiences moderated this race effect, suggesting both that pre-college factors may explain some of the observed racial disparities and that individual institutions can take more concrete actions to improve science achievement. Findings from the follow-up analysis of the sample of URMs suggest that institutions can improve URM STEM persistence by increasing the likelihood that those students will engage in key academic experiences: studying frequently with others, participating in undergraduate research, and involvement in academic clubs or organizations. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 51: 555–580, 2014

[1]  David A. Sabatini,et al.  TEACHING AND RESEARCH SYNERGISM: THE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE , 1997 .

[2]  Nolan L. Cabrera,et al.  Predicting transition and adjustment to college: biomedical and behavioral science aspirants’ and minority students’ first year of college , 2007 .

[3]  Earl R. Babbie,et al.  The practice of social research , 1969 .

[4]  Jan de Leeuw,et al.  Introduction to Multilevel Analysis , 2008 .

[5]  D. Rubin,et al.  Maximum likelihood from incomplete data via the EM - algorithm plus discussions on the paper , 1977 .

[6]  Araceli Espinoza,et al.  Examining the Academic Success of Latino Students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Majors , 2008 .

[7]  Jerilee Grandy,et al.  Persistence in Science of High-Ability Minority Students: Results of a Longitudinal Study , 1998 .

[8]  C. Henderson,et al.  Facilitating change in undergraduate STEM instructional practices: An analytic review of the literature , 2011 .

[9]  M. J. Chang,et al.  The Contradictory Roles of Institutional Status in Retaining Underrepresented Minorities in Biomedical and Behavioral Science Majors , 2008 .

[10]  Victor B. Sáenz,et al.  THE CHARACTERISTICS AND EXPERIENCES OF MINORITY FRESHMEN COMMITTED TO BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CAREERS , 2006 .

[11]  James W. Altschuld,et al.  PERSITENCE OF INTEREST IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS: A MINORITY RETENTION STUDY , 2006 .

[12]  Lorelle L. Espinosa.  Pipelines and Pathways: Women of Color in Undergraduate STEM Majors and the College Experiences That Contribute to Persistence , 2011 .

[13]  M. J. Chang,et al.  From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses , 2011, Research in higher education.

[14]  F. Pampel.  Logistic Regression: A Primer , 2000 .

[15]  A. D. Lambert,et al.  Racial Differences in the Effects of Campus Racial Climate on Degree Completion: A Structural Equation Model , 2008 .

[16]  Michael W. Matier,et al.  The role of ethnicity in choosing and leaving science in highly selective institutions , 1996 .

[17]  David Lopatto,et al.  The Essential Features of Undergraduate Research , 2003 .

[18]  J. Kinkead.  Learning through Inquiry: An Overview of Undergraduate Research. , 2003 .

[19]  Marvin A. Titus.  No College Student Left Behind: The Influence of Financial Aspects of a State's Higher Education Policy on College Completion , 2006 .

[20]  J. Pryor,et al.  CIRP Construct Technical Report , 2010 .

[21]  Peter A. Daempfle.  An Analysis of the High Attrition Rates among First Year College Science, Math, and Engineering Majors , 2003 .

[22]  J. B. Torres,et al.  Role of Self-Efficacy, Stress, Social Integration, and Family Support in Latino College Student Persistence and Health. , 2001 .

[23]  Jomo Mutegi.  “life's first need is for us to be realistic” and other reasons for examining the sociocultural construction of race in the science performance of African American students , 2013 .

[24]  M. J. Chang,et al.  Considering the Impact of Racial Stigmas and Science Identity: Persistence among Biomedical and Behavioral Science Aspirants , 2011, The Journal of higher education.

[25]  S. Schwartz,et al.  Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition , 1987 .

[26]  C. Kardash,et al.  Evaluation of an Undergraduate Research Experience: Perceptions of Undergraduate Interns and Their Faculty Mentors. , 2000 .

[27]  Gloria Crisp,et al.  Student persistence and degree attainment beyond the first year in college: The need for research , 2005 .

[28]  Richard J. Shavelson,et al.  Self‐regulated learning study strategies and academic performance in undergraduate organic chemistry: An investigation examining ethnically diverse students , 2013 .

[29]  Trond Petersen,et al.  A Comment on Presenting Results from Logit and Probit Models , 1985 .

[30]  G. Huang,et al.  Entry and Persistence of Women and Minorities in College Science and Engineering Education. , 2000 .

[31]  Heidi B. Carlone,et al.  Understanding the Science Experiences of Successful Women of Color: Science Identity as an Analytic Lens. , 2007 .

[32]  Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth,et al.  Pathways to Success: Affirming Opportunities for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Majors. , 2000 .

[33]  Guadalupe Anaya,et al.  Latina/o Student Achievement: Exploring the Influence of Student-Faculty Interactions on College Grades. , 2001 .

[34]  Mary M. Atwater,et al.  Traveling the road to success: A discourse on persistence throughout the science pipeline with African American students at a predominantly white institution , 2005 .

[35]  Ann Bessenbacher,et al.  Research skills and STEM undergraduate research students' aspirations for research careers: Mediating effects of research self‐efficacy , 2013 .

[36]  Marvin A. Titus.  An Examination of the Influence of Institutional Context on Student Persistence at 4-Year Colleges and Universities: A Multilevel Approach , 2004 .

[37]  Gloria Crisp,et al.  Student Characteristics, Pre-College, College, and Environmental Factors as Predictors of Majoring in and Earning a STEM Degree: An Analysis of Students Attending a Hispanic Serving Institution , 2009 .

[38]  Nolan L. Cabrera,et al.  Diversifying Science: Underrepresented Student Experiences in Structured Research Programs , 2009, Research in higher education.

[39]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[40]  Nolan L. Cabrera,et al.  Training Future Scientists: Predicting First-year Minority Student Participation in Health Science Research , 2008, Research in higher education.