– At admission, women perceived themselves as academically weaker than men despite similar academic performance. However, by graduation, women’s academic self-efficacy was equivalent to men’s.
– Students with double STEM-minority statuses, by ethnicity and SES, had lower academic self-efficacy and performance than did students with single STEM-minority status.
– At program entry, students with multiple STEM minority statuses had lower scores on every measure of academic performance, compared to peers with a single STEM-disadvantage status.
– Double-disadvantage students, compared to their single-disadvantage peers, benefited more from the McNair Program in two areas: critical thinking- a domain of academic performance- and self-perceived creativity.
– STEM students who were less confident in their academic abilities were less likely to apply for postgraduate training.
– At admission to the McNair Program, students with STEM-disadvantaged status by both ethnicity and SES, compared to students with only one of these forms of disadvantage, had significantly lower (i) academic self-efficacy, (ii) test taking skills; and (iii) academic performance.
– This study’s finding of an increase in academic self-efficacy for women and students with STEM-minority status by both ethnicity and SES at graduation from a mentoring program is perhaps an indication of the positive impact of mentoring.
* Mentoring programs can help disadvantaged students.