Empirical Insights into STEM Retention of Targeted Students:

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Empirical Insights into STEM Retention of
Targeted Students A Social Cognitive Approach
Angela Byars-Winston, Ph.D. Project Director
Sloan Project for Diversity in STEM
Retention Dalelia Davis, M.S., Yannine Estrada,
M.S., Christina Howard, M.C., Juan E. Zalapa,
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison Center on
Education and Work The National Symposium on
Student Retention (CSRDE) Hilton Milwaukee,
Wisconsin September 25, 2007
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Overview

• Discuss background issues and conceptual
  framework for STEM retention
• Describe current research project and initial
  findings and articulate theoretical, empirical,
  and practice implications
• Small group discussion applying conceptual
  framework and implications of study

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Definition of Terms

• STEM (NSF-defined) science, technology,
  engineering, and math
• also, SMET, SME, SE
• Retention within STEM major/degree
• ALANA African American, Latino/a, Asian,
• Native American

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Conceptualizing Retention
Theories That Explain Gap --Biological,
Cognitive, Social or contextual,
Psychological
STEM Interventions
STEM Retention Gap
Changes in --Retention in STEM major
--Retention to STEM degree
attainment --Retention to
STEM career
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Statement of the Problem

• Many STEM retention programs are informed by
• only anecdotal or folk insights, frequently
  lacking a
• theoretical framework as well as empirical
  support.
• If we are to create effective and relevant
  retention
• programs, we must first understand how
• underrepresented students experience college and
• then identify factors that affect their retention.

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What Factors Influence Academic Achievement and
Persistence?

• Contextual
• Cultural
• Cognitive

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Contextual

• Many students who leave cite poor teaching and
  uncomfortable classroom experiences.
• Chilly climate is reportedly created by White
  and male peers.
• Several studies document ALANA students
  experience of prejudice and discrimination on
  campus.
• Perception of racism increases during college.

(Brown, Morning, Watkins, 2004 Cabrera, Colbeck
Terenzini, 2001 Nora Cabrera, 1996 Seymour
Hewitt, 1997)
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Cultural

• Ethnic identity may buffer perceived ethnic
  discrimination positively correlated with
  perceptions of campus climate
• Ethnic Identity personal sense of belonging,
  pride, and security in ones referent ethnic
  group
• Ethnic identity is part of vocational identity
• Ethnic identity and other-group orientation
  positively predicted career-decision making
  self-efficacy of both white and ALANA students,
  though in varying degrees of strength

(Fouad Arbona, 1994 Gloria Hird, 1999
Gushue Whitson, 2006)
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Cognitive

• Academic-related self-perceptions
• Academic self-efficacy
• Positively predicts
• Interest in STEM careers, choice of STEM major,
  actual pursuit of STEM careers
• Persistence in a STEM major

Griffin, 1990 Kahn Nauta, 2001 Lent, Brown,
Larkin, 1986 Schunk Meese, 1992
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Social Cognitive Career Theory
Application of Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura,
1977) to career choice and behavior (Lent, Brown,
Hackett, 1994)
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Social Cognitive Career Theory
Personal inputs-predispositions, gender,
race/ethnicity
Contextual influences (supports barriers)
Past performance Verbal persuasion Vicarious
learning Physiological states
Retention
Background Contextual Affordances
Application of Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura,
1977) to career choice behavior (Lent, Brown,
Hackett, 1994)
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Research Question
How do social cognitive, contextual, and cultural
factors relate to STEM interests and intentions
to graduate with a STEM major? Hypothesis 1
Self-efficacy variables and outcome expectations
will positively predict STEM interests. Hypothesi
s 2 Self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and
STEM interests will positively predict intention
to graduate with STEM degree, with interests
being the greatest predictor.
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Participants

• Students previously identified as members of
  targeted ethnic or racial group
• College of Engineering (CoE)
• College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS)

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Recruitment

• Emails sent by project staff and college
  administrators
• Solicitation at student organization meetings
• Phone calls to home
• Incentive 5 gift certificate and name entered
  in a raffle drawing

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Demographics

• N128 (CoE - 65 CALS - 60)
• 128/323 40 response rate
• Mean age 21 (range 18-37 only 7 over 25)
• Men - 63 Women - 55
• Year
• Freshman 31
• Sophomore 28
• Junior 25
• Senior 36
• 89 (CoE) and 70 (CALS) of students reported
  being very/extremely committed to their major
• Numbers may not total 128 because of missing
  demographic information

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Racial Demographics, by College
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Survey

• Series of self-report measures
• Background information, social cognitive career
  variables, perceptions of campus climate, and
  ethnic identity factors
• On-line and paper formats
• Twenty minutes to complete

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Survey Scales
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Table 1 Means, Standard Deviations, Ranges, and
Correlations Among Measured Variables for Total
Sample
Note p lt .05, two-tailed p lt .01,
two-tailed p lt .001, two-tailed.
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Contextual Factors Campus Climate

• Student Perceptions of Campus Climate (1-5 scale)
• Students reported feeling safe and comfortable in
  classes and lab (CoE - 4.03 CALS - 4.06)
• Students reported a general attitude of prejudice
  on campus (e.g., 3.83 encountering racism
  hearing negative comments about their ethnicity
  particularly from academic staff)

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Academic Self-Efficacy

• Students were most confident in their ability to
  meet engineering requirements (e.g. math) and
  less to meet other requirements of the major
  (e.g., science).
• Students were more confident to succeed in the
  major in the short term (next semester), but
  progressively less confident in the long term.

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Coping Self-Efficacy

• Coping Efficacy Scale (0-9 rating scale)
• The lowest coping response (6.56-E, 5.75-C) was
  for coping with lack of support from professors
  or advisors.
• Worry about balancing pressures of courses and
  other demands with personal time.
• Coping with an academic environment that is not
  welcoming.
• Coping efficacy positively correlated with other
  efficacy variables (r .51-.57), outcome
  expectations, and perceptions of climate.

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Other-Group Orientation

• Positively related to
• Academic self-efficacy
• Coping self-efficacy
• Outcome expectations
• Perceptions of campus climate
• Other-Group Orientation, or ones comfort
  interacting with those different from oneself,
  was distinct from Ethnic Identity.

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Regression

• Hypothesis 1 - Accepted
• Math/Science interest (29 asv) was predicted by
  
• Outcome expectations (? .39), p lt .00
• Academic self-efficacy (? .24), p lt .02
• Hypothesis 2 - Rejected
• Intent to graduate with STEM degree (12 asv) was
  predicted by
• Outcome expectations (? .23), p lt .02
• Academic self-efficacy (? .28), p lt .01
• Math/Science interest was NOT a significant
  predictor of intent to graduate with STEM degree

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Implications

• Theoretical
• Examine other factors influencing STEM interests
  and intentions (e.g., motivation, perceived
  supports/barriers)
• Investigate directional relationships between
  ethnic identity factors and SCCT variables in
  retention
• Empirical
• Investigate relationship between SCCT variables
  and actual STEM retention behavior
  (semester-semester year-year)

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Implications (contd)

• Practical
• Address developmental drop in academic
  self-efficacy
• Attend to bicultural competence and coping skills
• Systematically garner student voices on factors
  that increase academic self-efficacy, drive STEM
  interests
• Systemic
• Encourage STEM researchers to conduct more
  science on science retention
• Increase STEM leaderships use of
  empirically-informed strategies to guide
  retention efforts
• Increase multidisciplinary collaborative research
  to examine person and environment factors in
  retention interventions

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Conclusion

• Retention efforts must focus on the following
• Students beliefs about their academic ability
  and their academic expectations
• Students experiences with and negotiation of
  themselves as cultural beings
• The STEM fields are ripe for evidence-based
  practice in retention interventions.

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AKNOWLEDGMENTS

• Sloan Foundation, Dr. Ted Greenwood
• CALS, Deans Robert Ray, Dick Barrows, Thomas
  Browne
• College of Engineering, Gwen Ebert, Steven Clark,
  Dean Steven Cramer
• WISC Alliance for Minority Participation
• Manuela Romero, Molly Carnes, Doug Henderson
• Dr. Allen Phelps, CEW
• Dr. Lori Bakken, ELPA Medical Science