Demographic and Academic Factors that Predict Degree Attainment for STEM Masters' Students at a Midwestern Public University
Author: Ryan Knutson
Publisher:
Published: 2020
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13:
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A Predictive Correlation Study
Author: Rick Jenkins
Publisher:
Published: 2015
Total Pages: 190
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis dissertation examines the educational attainment of college STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students in Arkansas in an attempt to identify the human capital factors that predict completion of a STEM degree or certificate. Students seeking STEM credentials (having STEM majors) were identified using the state higher education database from the state of Arkansas, including public four-year universities and two-year colleges. STEM students from 32 colleges and universities were included from three cohorts and tracked for six academic years. The criterion variable was STEM credential earned, whether or not the student earned any STEM undergraduate credentials. The predictor human capital variables for all STEM students included high school grade point average (GPA), American College Testing (ACT) composite score, ACT mathematics score, ACT English score, ACT reading score, and remedial status (remediation in any subject of mathematics, English, or reading). The predictor demographic factors included gender, race/ethnicity, and age. The research design was a predictive correlation study using logistic regression. The results indicated that high school GPA was highly predictive with ACT mathematics scores having predictive capability but with limited effect size and two other variables (remedial status and gender) being predictive for two of three cohorts.
Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2016-05-18
Total Pages: 215
ISBN-13: 0309373603
DOWNLOAD EBOOKNearly 40 percent of the students entering 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions indicated their intention to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in 2012. But the barriers to students realizing their ambitions are reflected in the fact that about half of those with the intention to earn a STEM bachelor's degree and more than two-thirds intending to earn a STEM associate's degree fail to earn these degrees 4 to 6 years after their initial enrollment. Many of those who do obtain a degree take longer than the advertised length of the programs, thus raising the cost of their education. Are the STEM educational pathways any less efficient than for other fields of study? How might the losses be "stemmed" and greater efficiencies realized? These questions and others are at the heart of this study. Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees reviews research on the roles that people, processes, and institutions play in 2-and 4-year STEM degree production. This study pays special attention to the factors that influence students' decisions to enter, stay in, or leave STEM majorsâ€"quality of instruction, grading policies, course sequences, undergraduate learning environments, student supports, co-curricular activities, students' general academic preparedness and competence in science, family background, and governmental and institutional policies that affect STEM educational pathways. Because many students do not take the traditional 4-year path to a STEM undergraduate degree, Barriers and Opportunities describes several other common pathways and also reviews what happens to those who do not complete the journey to a degree. This book describes the major changes in student demographics; how students, view, value, and utilize programs of higher education; and how institutions can adapt to support successful student outcomes. In doing so, Barriers and Opportunities questions whether definitions and characteristics of what constitutes success in STEM should change. As this book explores these issues, it identifies where further research is needed to build a system that works for all students who aspire to STEM degrees. The conclusions of this report lay out the steps that faculty, STEM departments, colleges and universities, professional societies, and others can take to improve STEM education for all students interested in a STEM degree.
Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2018-09-21
Total Pages: 203
ISBN-13: 0309472733
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe U.S. system of graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has served the nation and its science and engineering enterprise extremely well. Over the course of their education, graduate students become involved in advancing the frontiers of discovery, as well as in making significant contributions to the growth of the U.S. economy, its national security, and the health and well-being of its people. However, continuous, dramatic innovations in research methods and technologies, changes in the nature and availability of work, shifts in demographics, and expansions in the scope of occupations needing STEM expertise raise questions about how well the current STEM graduate education system is meeting the full array of 21st century needs. Indeed, recent surveys of employers and graduates and studies of graduate education suggest that many graduate programs do not adequately prepare students to translate their knowledge into impact in multiple careers. Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century examines the current state of U.S. graduate STEM education. This report explores how the system might best respond to ongoing developments in the conduct of research on evidence-based teaching practices and in the needs and interests of its students and the broader society it seeks to serve. This will be an essential resource for the primary stakeholders in the U.S. STEM enterprise, including federal and state policymakers, public and private funders, institutions of higher education, their administrators and faculty, leaders in business and industry, and the students the system is intended to educate.
Predicting how Science Self-efficacy and Identity Contributes to Postsecondary STEM Degree Selection
Author: Bo Jason Hayes
Publisher:
Published: 2023
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOne of the earliest indications that a student may be interested in STEM paths is the students' own self-efficacy for science as well as how they may see themselves in a STEM career as part of their science self-identity (Schlegel et al., 2019). Currently, there is a need to contribute to research that can assist agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Education and the National Academy of Sciences in advising the nation, including high schools and postsecondary institutions on ways to increase the enrollment of students in STEM-related careers. This study examined the extent to which science self-efficacy and science identity are related to postsecondary STEM degree selection, with special attention to how factors like race, gender, SES status and urbanicity influence science self-efficacy and science identity and how they may be predicative of postsecondary STEM degree selection. Correlation analysis was conducted to quantify the relationship between science identity and STEM degree selection, as well as between science self-efficacy and STEM degree selection. Correlation analysis by subgroup was conducted to examine differences in science identity and science self-efficacy between students based on the demographic characteristics. And binary logistic regression was conducted using the inputs of science identity, science self-efficacy, and demographic characteristics as variants to estimate STEM degree selection. Results of this study suggests that science identity and science self-efficacy are positively correlated with a student selecting a STEM degree. Relationships between science identity and self-efficacy with STEM degree selection among the demographic characteristics was also positively correlated. Black/African Americans and students from the lowest SES both are less likely to select a degree in STEM, while all other demographics show a positive predictive pattern. This work can be used to guide science education policy at the local, state, and national levels, and to direct science education programming in formal and informal settings including those at the high school level in ways to better prepare and encourage students into STEM careers.
Predictors of Academic Attainment in the New Second Generation
Author: Cristina Maria Novoa
Publisher:
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 78
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis study examined the predictors of educational attainment in the children of immigrants. These second-generation children represent an astounding degree of variation in adaptation outcomes, including educational attainment, with significant and reliable differences among national origin groups. One explanation for this phenomenon is differences in social capital; ethnic communities that are more firmly established and cohesive may be better positioned to provide social and cognitive support to youth. This study investigated what factors influence educational attainment in second-generation students, paying particular attention to differences in community level variables that contribute to national origin groups' social capital. The study employed a probit specification to explore an important outcome: graduation from college. Controlling for individual characteristics and family context--study habits, educational expectations, parental socioeconomic status, parents' nativity--reduced the effect of national origin group on graduation rates. However, community variables like community solidarity, social closure, government assistance and perceived discrimination did not significantly predict outcomes. Given the increasing importance of this population, research in this field is timely and relevant for policy makers and educators concerned with equity and excellence in education.
Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Postsecondary Education. Stats in Brief. NCES 2009-161
Author: Xianglei Chen
Publisher:
Published: 2009
Total Pages: 25
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRising concern about America's ability to maintain its competitive position in the global economy has renewed interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. To understand who enters into and completes undergraduate programs in STEM fields, this report examined data from three major national studies: the 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:96/01); the 2003-04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04); and the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002/06 (ELS:02/06). STEM fields, as defined in this study, include mathematics, natural sciences (including physical sciences and biological/agricultural sciences), engineering/engineering technologies, and computer/information sciences. This study used students' reported major field of study to identify STEM entrants and considered a STEM entrant anyone who reported a major in a STEM field at any time during his or her postsecondary enrollment. Looking only at single points in time, STEM majors accounted for 14 percent of all undergraduates enrolled in U.S. postsecondary education in 2003-04 and 15 percent of 2003-04 high school graduates who were enrolled in postsecondary education in 2006. In general, the percentage of students entering STEM fields was higher among male students, younger and dependent students, Asian/Pacific Islander students, foreign students or those who spoke a language other than English as a child, and students with more advantaged family background characteristics and strong academic preparation than among their counterparts who did not have these characteristics. After 6 years of initial college enrollment, STEM entrants generally did better than non-STEM entrants in terms of bachelor's degree attainment and overall persistence. Although students in various STEM fields were generally alike in terms of their demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics and their outcomes, those entering computer/information sciences differed in many respects. According to the BPS data, older students, students from low-income families, and those less academically prepared enrolled in computer/information sciences more often than did their peers who were younger, from high-income families, or more academically prepared. Additionally, compared to other STEM students, a larger percentage of computer/information sciences majors attended public 2-year institutions, enrolled in sub-baccalaureate programs, and attended classes exclusively part-time. A Technical Notes section describes data sources, study samples, weights, and derived variables used for this report. It also includes a crosswalk for the specific contents of the STEM categorization for various major fields of study. (Contains 2 figures and 8 tables.).
Pathways to STEM Occupations
Author: Rachel A. Lomax
Publisher:
Published: 2017
Total Pages: 146
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis quantitative study uses data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the influence of high school program participation on the pursuit of STEM-related pathways (major field of study, educational attainment, occupation). With Bourdieu's concepts of capital and habitus as the underlying theoretical framework, I examine whether various forms of capital instilled from family and gained through education through participation in advanced curriculum and college outreach programs in high school are related to individuals' post-secondary pathways resulting in STEM-related careers. Data analysis includes descriptive statistics and multivariate statistics to determine the likelihood of STEM-related outcomes (e.g., field of study, occupation) in relation to high school capital (i.e., programs) and socio-demographic characteristics. Findings suggest participation in advanced curriculum programs during high school increases the chances of students to engage in and complete a STEM-related major field of study, as well as seek employment in a STEM occupation. Additionally, advanced curriculum furthers the level of educational attainment. While participation in college outreach programs tends to have a positive effect on post-secondary access, a minimal relationship is evident in the pursuit and completion of STEM-related degrees or finding employment in STEM occupations. Specific socio-demographic characteristics (i.e. being White, male, having highly educated parents, and belonging to the highest SES quartile) are found to associate with STEM outcomes as well. In summary, this study demonstrates that the combined effect of high school programs and sociodemographic factors contribute to deepening the inequality in access and attainment in STEM academic fields and occupations.
Differences in Stem Degree Attainment by Region, Ethnicity, and Degree Type
Author: Kimberly A. Koledoye
Publisher:
Published: 2013
Total Pages: 1264
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPredicting Undergraduate Retention in STEM Majors Based on Demographics, Math Ability, and Career Development Factors
Author: Christopher T. Belser
Publisher:
Published: 2017
Total Pages: 214
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKScience, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields are currently facing a crisis with respect to filling jobs with qualified workers (NSF, 2013; NAS, 2011). While advancements in these industries have translated into job growth, post-secondary declaration and retention rates within STEM majors lag behind industry needs (Carnevale et al., 2011; Chen, 2013; Koenig et al., 2012). Although researchers previously investigated demographic variables and math-related variables in the context of STEM retention (Beasley & Fischer, 2012; CollegeBoard, 2012; Cundiff et al., 2013; Gayles & Ampaw, 2014; Le et al., 2014; Nosek & Smyth, 2011; Riegle-Crumb & King, 2010), the need exists for additional research examining the impact of career-related variables (Belser et al., 2017; Folsom et al., 2004; Parks et al., 2012; Reardon et al., 2015). Additionally, prior STEM retention research primarily focused on students with declared STEM majors, as opposed to undeclared students considering STEM majors.
