– The findings highlight the importance of positive student-faculty interactions and positive and supportive classroom environments and the effect that the above factors have on female students’ self-efficacy and their view of their capabilities and abilities to successfully perform in STEM majors.
– The voices of the female transfer students are highlighted in three themes, which are guided by the notion of theTransfer Student Capital: early social influences (precollegiate), community college environments and influences, and university environments and influences.
– Early social influences included parents and friends and work/job opportunities and experiences. Individuals with whom females engage early in life can greatly affect how these females view STEM areas of study.
– Students in this study chose to utilize the community college as a pathway for reaching their educational goals. The resources at community colleges are designed to respond to the needs of the students, more specifically female students, in a variety of ways.
– Individuals within the community college environment assisted the students with identifying specific areas in STEM and educating the students on the many careers they could persue with a STEM degree.
– After transferring to the university, the female transfer students had various adjustment experiences, and they found different individuals and resources to be essential components in the adjustment process. Continuing to be involved and engaged through different clubs and organization was common in the voices of the female transfer students.
– It is very clear that the successful female STEM transfer students in this study possess some degreeof transfer student capital.