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2015 - Moving Latino/a Students into STEM Majors in College: The Role of Teachers and Professional Communities in Secondary Schools

Attribution: Moller, Stephanie, Banerjee, Neena, Bottia, Martha C., Stearns, Elizabeth, Mickelson, Roslyn A., Dancy, Melissa, Wright, Eric, & Valentino, Lauren
Researchers: Elizabeth StearnsEric WrightLauren ValentinoMartha C. BottiaMelissa DancyNeena BanerjeeRoslyn A. MickelsonStephanie Moller
University Affiliation: University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Valdosta State University; University of Colorado; Indiana University; Duke University
Email: smoller@uncc.edu
Research Question:
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.
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
Journal Entry: Vol. 14, No. 1, Pp. 3-33
Year: 2015
Findings:
  1. The predicted probability that a Latino/a student will declare a STEM major ranges from .02 for students that studied in high schools with the weakest levels of collaborative professional communities to .21 among Latino/a students who studied in schools with the strongest levels of collaborative professional communities.
  2. For White, Black, and Asian students, the effect of collaborative professional community is not significantly different from zero. This suggests that the important role that the high school teaching environment plays on Latino/a students’ choice of major in college is unique.
  3. Teachers who are members of professional communities are more satisfied with their professions and are better able to prepare students for majoring in STEM.
  4. The qualitative data highlights that students were more likely to major in STEM in college when they were educated in high schools with engaged and satisfied teachers.
  5. Enjoyment of math and science are an important condition for Latino/a students to pursue STEM which makes the impact that teachers have as more influential for Latino/a students.
  6. The quantitative results demonstrate that collaborative professional communities in high school are important for Latino/a students’ choice of major in college.
  7. The results from the qualitative interviews clarify how Latino/a students’ perceptions of precollege educational environments shape their decisions to major in STEM.
  8. Proportion Latino in high school and Proportion students on F/R Lunch in high school appeared to have no significant effect on students choice of STEM as a major.
Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: CollegeHispanic EducationLatinosSTEMTeacher CollaborationTeachersRegions: SouthMethodologies: MixedAnalysis Methods: Descriptive StatisticsMultilevel Models Sampling Frame:North Carolina Students
Sampling Types: PopulationAnalysis Units: CollegeSchoolStudentData Types: Mixed-Longitudinal
Data Description:
    • The ROOTS of STEM data set was used for the quantitative portion of the research. This data set contains data that was collected from the entire North Carolina public school system which includes middle schools, high schools, and public 4-year institutions. The sample used contained 206 Latino/a students in 114 schools, 8,851 White students in 268 schools, 2,647 Black students in 230 schools, and 428 Asian students in 139 schools. The sample used also contained information on 6,524 teachers from 327 schools.
    • The primary independent variable, collaborative professional community in high schools, was created through exploratory factor analysis of six items from the Working Conditions Survey of teachers. These items include the following: (a) The faculty and staff have a shared vision, (b) the principal is supportive of teachers, (c) there is an atmosphere of trust and respect in the school, (d) the principal communicates his or her expectations to teachers, (e) teachers work together to improve teaching and learning, and (f) overall, the school is considered a good place to work and learn. The final item, “overall my school is a good place to work and learn” is a measure of teacher satisfaction. The original responses were captured through a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. These school-level continuous variables are then analyzed through exploratory factor analysis.
    • The dependent variable was a binary variable which was whether students declared a STEM or non-STEM major in college.
    • The authors included controls for students’ socioeconomic status (SES), gender, limited English proficiency in K-12, and standardized test scores from Algebra 2 end-of-course tests. The authors have also included several control variables that measure students’ school characteristics. These variables include proportion of licensed teachers in school, proportion of teachers with advanced degrees, proportion of teachers with more than 11 years of experience, rate of teacher turnover in the high school, proportion of Latino/a students in school in 10th grade, proportion of students who receive free or reduced-price lunch in schools, whether the school is located in urban, rural, or suburban area, whether the school offers a program with a math and science focus, and size of school.
    • The qualitative portion of the research is based on in-depth interviews with seniors in the UNC system in 2013. The researchers distributed a recruitment survey to seniors at all 16 UNC campuses. They categorized students as STEM majors, STEM leavers, or STEM avoiders. The analysis involved two components. The first was an analysis based on interviews they conducted on 26 Latino/a seniors in college which included 13 STEM majors and 13 STEM avoiders. The second analysis was based on interviews with 13 Latino/a STEM majors, 73 White STEM majors, 39 Black STEM majors, and 11 Asian STEM majors.

 

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:Factors Related to STEM Readiness
Archives: K-16 STEM Abstracts
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