2015 - Examining the Self-Efficacy of Community College STEM Majors: Factors Related to Four-Year Degree Attainment

Attribution: Amelink, Catherine T., Artis, Sharnina, & King Liu, Tsu-Jae
Researchers: Catherine T. AmelinkSharnina ArtisTsu-Jae King Liu
University Affiliation: Virginia Tech; University of California at Berkley
Email: amelink@vt.edu
Research Question:
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.
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Community College Journal of Research and Practice
Journal Entry: Vol. 39, Pp. 1111-1124
Year: 2015
Findings:

– Upon entering the experience, community college students identified themselves as lacking self-efficacy to conduct research and participate in a meaningful way in the research process, either indicating they were “not ready” or were in some way inferior to the individuals that they would be working with at the University of California at Berkeley.
– The students overall reported measurable gains in engineering self-efficacy from the summer research experience.
– Results show that while all domains were important for improving self-efficacy, vicarious experience and social persuasion were equally as important as mastery experience.
– Across domain areas, mentoring and a collaborative environment were factors that emerged as critical to positively influencing student self-efficacy.
– Results from this study document how self-efficacy of community college students majoring in STEM fields can be improved over time with consistent guidance and opportunities to demonstrate skills and knowledge they have gained in a supportive environment.

* What is important to improve self-efficacy for STEM community college students.

Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: Academic AchievementCommunity CollegementorSelf-EfficacySTEMTransferRegions: WestMethodologies: MixedResearch Designs: Case StudySurveyAnalysis Methods: Content AnalysisDescriptive Statistics Sampling Frame:STEM Community College Students Transferring
Sampling Types: Non-random - opportunityAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Mixed-Longitudinal
Data Description:

This study examined an eight-week summer research experience at the University of California at Berkeley for California community college students. All of the 30 students that were accepted into and participated in the summer research experience during the summers of 2012 and 2013 comprised the sample for this study.

A presurvey was administered to the students one week prior to their arrival on the University of California at Berkeley’s campus. The postsurvey had similar questions as the presurvey so that gains over the summer could be measured in key areas. However, the postsurvey contained questions about their experience over the summer and the satisfaction that they received in relation to mentoring and support from the program staff. Additional questions included an open-ended question that asked them what they learned over the summer.

In addition to the pre- and postsurvey, there were also weekly journals that students were required to complete. The journal entries were submitted each week to the program staff. Once all entries were collected for both cohorts (2012 and 2013), a content analysis was conducted to determine the degree to which self-efficacy might have improved among interns over the eight-week period and what experiences impacted their self-efficacy.

Demographics about participants were also collected including income level, race, and gender.

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:Community College and STEM
Archives: K-16 STEM Abstracts