2016 - STEM Field Persistence: The Impact of Engagement on Postsecondary STEM Persistence for Underrepresented Minority Students

Attribution: Flynn, Daniel T.
Researchers: Daniel T. Flynn
University Affiliation:
Email: dflynn@sgu.edu
Research Question:
1) Do the BPS:04/09 data support that underrepresented minority students leave STEM fields? 2) Does the BPS:04/09 demonstrate differential engagement for underrepresented minority students in STEM fields? 3) Do the differing engagement behaviors contribute to STEM attrition of underrepresented minorities?
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Journal of Educational Issues
Journal Entry: Vol. 2, No.1, Pp. 185-214
Year: 2016
Findings:

– Underrepresented minorities have different engagement patterns, but these engagement behaviors do not contribute significantly to staying in the STEM fields.
– Black STEM students are more likely to switch out of STEM fields and to leave school two years post initial enrollment than are white STEM students.
– Black students in the science/math STEM subfields are significantly more likely to have higher academic engagement index scores.
– Neither increased nor decreased academic nor social engagement improves the likelihood of underrepresented minority students in persisting in the STEM fields.

Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: CollegeMinoritiesPersistenceSTEMRegions: NationalMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Secondary Survey DataAnalysis Methods: Descriptive StatisticsMultinomial Logistic Regression Sampling Frame:College Students
Sampling Types: Nationally RepresentativeAnalysis Units: CollegeStudentData Types: Quantitative-Longitudinal
Data Description:

Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Student Survey, 2004-2009. The sample consists of 8700 individual students from 1350 different baccalaureate-granting institutions.

DVs: Academic engagement and social engagement. Academic engagement is a composite variable measured by: (1) meeting with faculty outside of class time; (2) meeting informally/socially with faculty; (3) meeting with advisors; and (4) participating in study groups. Social engagement is a composite variable measured by: (1) attends or participates in campus arts, drama, music, or fine arts activities; (2) attends or participates in campus clubs or organizations; and (3) participates or attends campus varsity, intermural, or club sports activities. All responses were measured with “never”, “sometimes”, or “often”.

IVs: Ethnicity; gender; family income; student dependent status; high school GPA; age; selectivity of institution; STEM subfield

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:Race and STEM, STEM Persistence and Retention
Archives: K-16 STEM Abstracts