1) In what ways did youths’ figured worlds, positionality, and authoring of self come through at the time they applied to the program? 2) What kinds of figured worlds of science, positionality, and authoring of selves emerged and were supported by COSMOS (a Math and Science Upward Bound program)? 3) What kinds of educational and identity pathways in science are evident from the four youths’ navigations in and through Cosmos, and college?
Current Selections
ClearDo Foreigners Crowd Natives out of STEM Degrees and Occupations? Evidence from the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990
Examine the effects of the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990 on STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics) degree completion and labor market outcomes
for native-born Americans.
Teacher Characteristics, Student Beliefs and the Gender Gap in STEM Fields
To examine the impact of teachers’ gender, beliefs and behaviors on students’ beliefs about boys’ and girls’ abilities in math and science.
Understanding the Changing Dynamics of the Gender Gap in Undergraduate Engineering Majors: 1971-2011
This paper examines the level and determinants of students’ plans to major in engineering when entering college. (1) How has the gender gap in incoming college students’ intent to major in engineering changed over the past 4 decades? (2) What are the determinants of women’s and men’s decision to major in engineering versus all other fields? To what extent have these determinants and/or their salience changed over time for women and men? (3) To what extent is the gender gap in the selection of engineering due to (a) gender differences in attributes, versus (b) gender differences in the salience of these attributes? How has this changed over time?
STEM as "Minority": A Phenomenological Case Study of How Students of Color Perceive Their Experience in a STEM Living-Learning Program
To gain understanding of the experiences of students of color in a STEM living-learning program.
Deconstructing the Transfer Student Capital: Intersect between Cultural and Social Capital among Female Transfer Students in STEM Fields
This study explored the experiences of female transfer students majoring in STEM areas at a midwestern university by highlighting the role of Transfer Student Capital in their academic and social adjustment. The authors further deconstructed the notion of Transfer Student Capital by looking at how cultural and social capital intersect through the early background influences as well as the pre- and post-transfer experience of female community college transfer students in STEM disciplines. Research questions include (1) How do students describe the early influences regarding people, places, and experiences that influenced their early interests in STEM majors? and (2) How do female transfer students describe their academic pre- and post-transfer process and experiences?
Understanding the Relationship Between Parental Education and STEM Course Taking Through Identity-Based and Expectancy-Value Theories of Motivation
This study investigates the relationships between expectancy-value and identity-based motivational variables by examining how these motivational variables predict STEM preparation (i.e., course taking) in high school and college.
In the Guise of STEM Education Reform: Opportunity Structures and Outcomes in Inclusive STEM-Focused High Schools
1) How do eight inclusive (nonselective) urban public (non-charter) high schools (two STEM-focused and two comprehensive, traditionally structured) approach and organize opportunities for STEM for low-income historically underrepresented minorities? 2) What written and enacted opportunity structures are available, over a three-year time span (2010-2013), for high-achieving (top track) students at the four STEM-focused schools? 3) How do select teachers and counselors perceive available opportunity structures? 4) How do these opportunity structures position high-achieving students for further study and a career in STEM?
Examining STEM Bachelor's Degree Completion for Students with Differing Propensities at College Entry
1) What aspects of students’ demographic, socioeconomic, and academic backgrounds influence selecting a STEM major during the first year of college? 2) To what extent do students’ first year propensities toward a STEM education moderate the influence that first year financial aid and declaring a STEM major, as well as academic performance and integration in the academic and social environments have on STEM degree completion?
Examining the Self-Efficacy of Community College STEM Majors: Factors Related to Four-Year Degree Attainment
This study examines what experiences can improve the self-efficacy of community college students as it relates to research and whether this has an impact on their long-term career plans to pursue a STEM career.
Considering the Interest-Convergence Dilemma in STEM Education
Focuses on what barriers still exist in diversity programs that are focused on STEM.
Narrowing Pathways? Exploring the Spatial Dynamics of Postsecondary STEM Preparation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What geographical factors are associated with the postsecondary STEM preparation of students from underrepresented groups in the School District of Philadelphia from middle to high school?
Black STEM Students and the Opportunity Structure
What pre-college characteristics, college experiences, and college environments significantly influence Black students’ participation within the STEM opportunity structure, compared to their White counterparts?
The concentration of Asian Americans in STEM and health-care occupations: an intergenerational comparison
This article examines the concentration of Asian Americans in the STEM and health-care fields of study and occupations by generation, ethnic group and gender, compared to white Americans.
An Investigation of the Linkage Between Technology-Based Activities and STEM Major Selection in 4-Year Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: Multilevel Structural Equation Modelling
1) To what extent do technology-based activities affect students’ selections of STEM majors in 4-year postsecondary institutions at the student level, taking into account math performance, gender, racial/ethnic background, and socioeconomic status (SES)? 2) To what extent do technology-based activities and technology-based school environment affect students ‘selections of STEM majors in 4-year postsecondary institutions at the school level, taking into account math performance, gender, racial/ethnic background, and SES?
Determining the Effects of Computer Science Education at the Secondary Level on STEM Major Choices in Postsecondary Institutions in the United States
1) To what extent does taking more units in computer science courses predict students’ STEM major choices in 4-year post-secondary institutions, controlling for credits earned in math and science, ACT math scores, gender, social economic status (SES), and racial background? 2) To what extent does taking more units in computer science courses predict students’ STEM major choices in 2-year post-secondary institutions, controlling for credits earned in math and science, ACT math scores, gender, SES, and racial background? 3) To what extent does taking more units in computer science courses lead to a significant difference in students’ major choices between4-year and 2-year post-secondary institutions, controlling for credits earned in math and science, ACT math scores, gender, SES, and racial background?
The Role of School Performance in Narrowing Gender Gaps in the Formation of STEM Aspirations: A Cross-National Study
To determine whether the school context is related to the gender gap in STEM aspirations cross-culturally.
Moving Latino/a Students into STEM Majors in College: The Role of Teachers and Professional Communities in Secondary Schools
This research focuses on the predictors of STEM majors in college, focusing specifically on Latino/a students. Also, it examines the effectiveness of collaborative teaching communities in secondary schools. Lastly, this research focuses on teacher satisfaction and teaching practices on student outcomes.
Perceived Mathematical Ability under Challenge: A Longitudinal Perspective on Sex Segregation among STEM Degree Fields
1) To what degree do domain-specific and domain-general perceptions of ability under challenge differ by gender? 2) What is the relationship between perceived ability under challenge in mathematics and advanced high school science course enrollment? 3) To what extent does perceived ability under challenge in mathematics predict staying in a STEM field as intended before entering postsecondary education? How is this relationship moderated by gender? 4) What is the relationship between perceived ability under challenge in mathematics and selection of mathematics-intensive science majors (physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science(PEMC), and how is that relationship moderated by gender?
Ethnic Variation in Gender-STEM Stereotypes and STEM Participation: An Intersectional Approach
The authors examine ethnic variation in gender-
STEM stereotypes and STEM participation among African American and European American college students.
College Admissions Viewbooks and the Grammar of Gender, Race, and STEM
This study aims to critically examine representations of gender, race, and STEM in college admissions viewbooks.
Supplemental Instruction: The Effect of Demographic and Academic Preparation Variables on Community College Student Academic Achievement in STEM-Related Fields
This study evaluated the influence of input and environment variables associated with participation in supplemental instruction (SI) on student achievement outcomes at a community college. In particular, the study evaluated the relationships between student demographics and academic preparation, faculty and SI member demographics, levels of participation in SI, and academic achievement.
Parental Support and High School Students’ Motivation in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics: Understanding Differences Among Latino and Caucasian Boys and Girls
The authors examine if a variety of parental behaviors predict students’ ability self-concepts in and value they place on biology, chemistry, and physics.
Pathway to a Baccalaureate in STEM Fields: Are Community Colleges a Viable Route and Does Early STEM Momentum Matter?
1) Does beginning at a community college affect students’ baccalaureate completion and persistence in STEM fields of study at 4-year institutions? 2) To what extent is STEM momentum related to baccalaureate completion and persistence in STEM fields of study at 4-year institutions? 3) To what extent does beginning at a community college influence STEM momentum?
Course-Taking Patterns of Community College Students Beginning in STEM: Using Data Mining Techniques to Reveal Viable STEM Transfer Pathways
This study examines the course-taking trajectories of beginning community college students, and the resulting transfer outcomes as related to STEM. The following question guides this research: What course-taking patterns are most contributive to upward transfer in STEM fields?
Belonging and Academic Engagement Among Undergraduate STEM Students: A Multi-institutional Study
1) Which levels of belonging are most consistently associated with behavioral engagement as well as emotional engagement after controlling for relevant factors such as self-efficacy? 2) What are the similarities and differences among the different types of institutions in terms of the relationships between belonging levels and engagement?
STEM Education
Review and discuss current research on STEM education in the United States, drawing on recent research in sociology and related fields.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Readiness: Ethno-Linguistic and Gender Differences in High-School Course Selection Patterns
1) What are the ethno-linguistic profiles of high school graduates that entered the ESL program in schools in British Columbia at different ages? 2) What are the determinants and correlates of Grade 12 course selecting patterns (CSP) with respect to student gender, ethno-linguistic group, academic history, grade level at entry and achievement history? 3) What student demographics increase the probability that students will choose classes that prepare them for a STEM major? 4) What are the probabilities of CSP by gender and ethnic group status?
Expectancy-Value Models of the STEM Persistence Plans of Ninth-Grade, High-Ability Students: A Comparison Between Black, Hispanic, and White Students
Examine the relationships of demographic and expectancy-value variables with STEM persistence status.
Does it Matter Who Your Schoolmates Are? An Investigation of the Association between School Composition, School Processes and Mathematics Achievement in the Early Years of Primary Education
(1) What are the effects of school composition with regard to prior math achievement, SES, ethnicity and sex on mathematics achievement at the end of the second grade? (2) Are there differential school composition effects? In other words: are all students affected equally by their school composition or are some specific subgroups more sensitive to their school composition than others? (3) Do certain school processes mediate the association between school composition and mathematics achievement at the end of the second grade?
"What Comes to Mind When You Think of Science? The Perfumery!": Documenting Science-Related Cultural Learning Pathways Across Contexts and Timescales
How do everyday moments – experienced across settings, pursuits, social groups, and time – result in scientific learning, expertise development, and identification?
What Matters in College for Retaining Aspiring Scientists and Engineers from Underrepresented Racial Groups
Among students who started college with an interest in majoring in a STEM field, does a student’s race contribute significantly to the chances that he or she will follow through on these intentions? If so, are the effects of race moderated by high school academic preparation and/or key college experiences? If there are racial disparities in persistence rates after controlling for pre-college student characteristics, what are the college factors that contribute to the persistence of under represented racial minority (URM) students? What college experiences and institutional characteristics significantly predict the likelihood that a URM student will follow through on his or her intentions to pursue a degree in STEM?
Intersectionality and STEM: The Role of Race and Gender in the Academic Pursuits of African American Women in STEM
What role do the intersection of race and gender play in the academic pursuits of African American women in the STEM field of computing sciences?
The High School Environment and the Gender Gap in Science and Engineering
Extend existing explanations for gender differences in plans of pursuing STEM degrees and examine the role of the high school context.
Pathways to Science and Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees for Men and Women
How would the gender gap in S/E degrees
change if women had the same orientation
toward and preparation for S/E in middle school
and at the end of high school?
Breaking it Down: Engineering Student STEM Confidence at the Intersection of Race/Ethnicity and Gender
This study examines social cognitive influences on engineering student STEM confidence, with a particular focus on women and underrepresented minorities.