From description to explanation: An empirical exploration of the African-American pipeline problem in STEM

Abstract

We conducted a mixed-methods study of matriculation issues for African-Americans in the STEM pipeline. The project compares the experiences of students currently majoring in science (N ¼ 304) with the experiences of those who have succeeded in earning science degrees (N ¼ 307). Participants were surveyed about their pipeline experiences based on theories that are commonly used to explain matriculation issues. The results of the study revealed that although both groups recognized the major role of race in their experiences, the primary factor distinguishing between students and professionals was their sense of Alignment with their respective community and their different experiences with subtle forms of racism (Microaggressions). African-American scientists were far more likely to report a weak sense of belonging to their community and were far more likely to report subtle encounters with racism. By contrast, African-American science students were more likely to feel comfortable with the science community and less likely to report subtle racist encounters. The findings of this study are indicative of the pervasive impact of racial bias and conflict as a gatekeeper in providing access to science careers. # 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The role of high school racial composition and opportunities to learn in students' STEM college participation

“…Our findings suggest that there might be an interplay between students' race and the racial composition of the school context (consistent with Bottia, Mickelson, Giersch, Stearns, & Moller, ; Newton, ), which determines the timing of when the influence of attending a school with predominantly White students will come into effect. This finding is also consistent with previous literature that recognizes the major role race has in the STEM experiences of Black students and professionals involved in STEM fields (Brown et al, ). Additional research is needed to help understand this provocative finding…”

Peer-Led Team Learning Improves Minority Student Retention in STEM Majors

“…It has been well documented that URM students struggle with identification with STEM, and that this is often a reason that they leave STEM fields (Hurtado, Eagan, & Chang, 2010). Additionally, African-American students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are far more likely to major in STEM than those at majority institutions (Brown et al, 2015).…”

“…Moreover, offering PLTL in an introductory course could be an effective intervention at a pivotal point when many students are known to drop out of STEM majors. We predict that PLTL will influence student recruitment into and retention in STEM for students overall, but we also predict that there will be particular benefits for members of URM groups who tend to drop out of STEM majors at higher-than-average rates and may have more trouble identifying with STEM during lecture-based courses (Brown, Henderson, Gray, Donovan, Sullivan, Patterson, & Waggstaff, 2015;Brown, Reveles, & Kelly, 2005).…”

Examining the Role of Leadership in an Undergraduate Biology Institutional Reform Initiative

“…Despite high levels of funding and publicity for STEM education, systemic reform across the disciplines at the undergraduate level has been slow (Dancy and Henderson, 2008; Fairweather, 2008; Austin, 2011; Marbach-Ad et al ., 2014). Breadth of coverage continues to dominate depth of coverage in many introductory, gateway science courses (Daempfle, 2006; Momsen et al ., 2010; Alberts, 2012; Luckie et al ., 2012), student attrition in STEM fields continues at a high rate (Chen, 2013; King, 2015), and a gap between men and women and between majority and minority students persists in in-class participation, overall course grades, and degree attainment (Madsen et al ., 2013; Eddy et al ., 2014; Gayles and Ampaw, 2014; Brown et al ., 2016), although some conflicting evidence shows that the gender gap is closing (Ceci et al ., 2014; Miller and Wai, 2015). …”