– The authors found that white men were most likely to report a sense of belonging whereas women of color were the least likely.
– Representation within one’s STEM sub-discipline, namely biology versus the physical sciences, impacts sense of belonging for women.
– Four key factors were found to contribute to sense of belonging for all students interviewed: interpersonal relationships, perceived competence, personal interest, and science identity.
– The authors findings indicate that students who remain in STEM majors report a greater sense of belonging than those who leave STEM.
– Students from underrepresented groups are less likely to
feel they belong.
– Both race and gender moderate the experiences that impact sense of belonging for science students.
– Women of color reported the feeling a sense of belonging less frequently than any demographic group.
– Lack of belonging reported by men is primarily experienced by men of color
Current Selections
ClearRace and gender differences in how sense of belonging influences decisions to major in STEM
Aligning Science Achievement and STEM Expectations for College Success: A Comparative Study of Curricular Standardization
This paper examines student science
achievement in the precollege years, focusing
on students who indicate they plan to major
in science or pursue a science career. It compares the United States with other industrialized countries in terms of science achievement and determines the degree to which crossnational variations in standardization of the curriculum are related to science achievement, net of other country-level factors such as teacher quality and economic development. The authors then examine cross-national variations in students’
future orientations toward STEM to determine
whether curricular standardization is related
to the alignment of students’ science achievement with their plans to pursue a STEM major or career
Computing Whether She Belongs: Stereotypes Undermine Girls’ Interest and Sense of Belonging in Computer Science
The authors predict that belonging will have a particularly strong influence on interest because belonging is a fundamentally important motivator. They also examine a potentially important individual difference that may affect belonging- whether students feel that they personally fit the stereotype of a computer scientist.
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?
A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Promoting the Retention and Persistence of Students of Color in STEM
This study examined salient factors of retention and persistence among college students of color enrolled in STEM education at a predominantly White institution (PWI).