Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees Systemic Change to Support Students' Diverse Pathways (2016) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Culture of Undergraduate STEM Education
3 The Culture of Undergraduate STEM Education
Pages 59-82
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From page 59... ...
• New research is needed to understand whether STEM "gate way" courses continue to negatively impact STEM student persistence due to the culture of the classrooms and a heavy reliance on lectures, as research from over a decade ago has revealed. The complex array of pathways that students take to STEM degrees is not easily navigated, and students sometimes encounter barriers along the path to earning a degree.
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From page 60... ...
. The cultures that male and female students from all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities encounter while they study STEM can undermine or support their performance and persistence through their self-concepts and beliefs specific to the STEM domain and their feelings of community and belonging in STEM fields.
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From page 61... ...
Takeuchi As described in Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: Amer ica's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2011) , diversity is a resource for and strength of the nation's society, economy, and postsecondary institutions.
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From page 62... ...
This conceptualization of culture is highly relevant to undergraduate STEM education, which prepares students to become members of a group: professional scientists, technologists, engineers, or mathematicians. Thus, STEM learning can be viewed as a cultural process in which the practices and assumptions of STEM education reflect the culture, cultural practices, and cultural values of STEM professionals (National Research Council, 2009)
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From page 63... ...
The overall message conveyed is that success in STEM fields requires either natural ability in mathematics or science or very early exposures to high-quality training. Related to this view is the tendency for introductory mathematics and science courses to function as gatekeeper courses that discourage students from continuing to pursue a STEM degree: see Box 3-2 for a detailed discussion of mathematics.
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From page 64... ...
. This trend is particularly pronounced among students intending to major in STEM fields.
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From page 65... ...
. Thus, developmental mathematics courses, particularly in the context of community colleges, are a barrier to student success in undergraduate STEM education.
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From page 66... ...
, some struggling firstyear college students were shown videos of college seniors discussing how their grades were low in their first year but had improved over time through hard work (Snipes et al., 2012)
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From page 67... ...
In contrast, students i who do not experience a sense of community or belonging in STEM fields are more likely to leave STEM majors (Smith et al., 2013)
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From page 68... ...
. RACIAL AND GENDER STEREOTYPES AND BIASES IN STEM EDUCATION A host of psychological and educational research studies provides clear evidence that stigmatizing experiences -- in the form of interpersonal discrimination -- are a common occurrence for many racial and ethnic minority students, especially those in predominantly white college and university settings (see, e.g., Chang et al., 2011)
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From page 69... ...
Unfortunately, these experiences can serve to undermine students' own views of their ability and make them feel less valued, and subsequently, less connected to their academic settings. The experiences of female students from underrepresented minority groups are discussed in Box 3-3.
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From page 70... ...
A synthesis of 116 works of scholarship spanning 40 years (Ong et al., 2011) provides insight into the factors that influence the retention, persistence, and achievement of underrepresented minority women in STEM fields.
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From page 71... ...
Together, these three majors accounted for about two-thirds of STEM degrees earned by underrepresented minority women, and they are underrepresented in all other STEM fields, especially computer sci ence (7%) , geosciences (7%)
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From page 72... ...
STEM contexts in ways that enhance inclusion and participation for historically underrepresented groups. CULTURAL STRENGTHS AND ASSETS OF STEM STUDENTS Despite the risks and challenges faced by many minority students, significant numbers of STEM students from traditionally underrepresented groups show positive adjustment and are academically successful.
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From page 73... ...
Many students encounter messages that success in STEM fields requires either natural ability in math or science or very early exposures to high-quality training, which tends to be associated with lower persistence among women and minorities. Academic cultures characterized by race, ethnic, or gender stigma may lead students to assess those academic contexts as incompatible with their personal identities; they may thus disidentify with or disconnect important aspects of their personal identity (e.g., self-esteem, self-concept, personal values)
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From page 74... ...
. Reducing the effects of stereotype threat on African American college students by shaping theories of intelligence.
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From page 75... ...
. The role of efficacy and identity in science career commitment among underrepresented minority students.
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From page 76... ...
. Pathways and pipelines: Women of color in undergraduate STEM majors and the college experiences that contribute to persistence.
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From page 77... ...
. Campus racial climate perceptions and overall sense of belonging among racially diverse women in STEM majors.
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From page 78... ...
" Stereotype management among academically successful black mathematics and engineering students. American Educational Research Journal, 48(6)
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From page 79... ...
Social Psychology of Education, 16(3)
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From page 80... ...
. Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students.
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From page 81... ...
. Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate for Latina/o undergraduates.
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