Influence of social cognitive and ethnic variables on academic goals of underrepresented students in science and engineering: A multiple-groups analysis.

Abstract

This study investigated the academic interests and goals of 223 African American, Latino/a, Southeast Asian, and Native American undergraduate students in two groups: biological science and engineering (S/E) majors. Using social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), we examined the relationships of social cognitive variables (math/science academic self-efficacy, math/ science outcome expectations), along with the influence of ethnic variables (ethnic identity, othergroup orientation) and perceptions of campus climate to their math/science interests and goal commitment to earn an S/E degree. Path analysis revealed that the hypothesized model provided good overall fit to the data, revealing significant relationships from outcome expectations to interests and to goals. Paths from academic self-efficacy to S/E goals and from interests to S/E goals varied for students in engineering and biological science. For both groups, other-group orientation was positively related to self-efficacy and support was found for an efficacy-mediated relationship between perceived campus climate and goals. Theoretical and practical implications of the study's findings are considered as well as future research directions. Keywordssocial cognitive career; ethnic identity; science and engineering; career goals; underrepresented students Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Angela Byars-Winston, Center for Women's Health Research, 700 Regent Street, Suite #301, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715-2634. ambyars@wisc.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/cou. National surveys of freshmen indicate that the intentions of ALANA students to major in a STEM field are similar to the intentions of White students (NSB, 2006). However, by the sixth year of college, only about 29% of ALANA students entering STEM majors graduate with a STEM degree compared to 42% of White students entering STEM majors (Hayes, 2007). Though scholarship exists on interventions to reduce attrition of ALANA students from STEM, it is largely comprised of program evaluations and minimal research that attends to the influence of cultural variables on retention. Further, few STEM retention efforts are informed by theorydriven research and are thus often reliant upon anecdotal or folk insights to guide their efforts (Lewis, 2003), delivering interventions that may not be effective or culturally relevant for ALANA students. Identifying influences on retention-related variables for ALANA students in STEM majo...

La Teoría Cognitivo Social De Desarrollo De La Carrera: Evidencias Al Modelo Con Una Muestra De Estudiantes Universitarios De La Rama Científica

“…Por último, en el estudio de McWhirter, Torres, Salgado y Valdez, (2007) la mayoría de los participantes esperaban encontrar barreras económicas y científica influyen en el interés por realizar actividades de dicha rama (H3) y en los intentos por persistir en los estudios científicos (H5). Estos resultados son coincidentes con la mayoría de investigaciones que, además de las H3 y H5, también corroboran la H2 (Blanco, 2011;Byars-Winston et al, 2010;Byars-Winston y Fouad, 2008;Diegelman y Subich, 2001;Ferry, Fouad y Smith, 2000;Gainor y Lent, 1998;Lent et al, 2005;Lent et al, 2011;Lent et al, 2010;Lent, et al, 2007;Schaub y Tokar, 2005;Sheu et al, 2010;Waller, 2006). Asimismo, también se corrobora la H7, pues cuanto más interés manifiesta un estudiante por realizar las actividades de los estudios de la Rama de Ciencias más esfuerzos realiza por persistir en los estudios elegidos, pese a la dificultad asociada a ellos (véase Byars-Winston et al, 2010;Lent et al, 2005;Lent, López et al, 2008;Lent et al, 2011;Lent et al, 2007).…”

“…Del mismo modo, se han verificado las H4 y H6 porque la valoración que hacen los estudiantes de las consecuencia positivas de finalizar con éxito sus estudios influyen en su interés por las actividades científicas y les ayudan a ser más persistentes para completar con éxito sus estudios (véase Blanco, 2011;Byars-Winston et al, 2010;Byars-Winston y Fouad, 2008;Diegelman y Subich, 2001;Ferry et al, 2000;Fouad et al, 2002;Gainor y Lent, 1998;Huang y Hsieh, 2011;Lent et al, 2001;Lindley, 2005;Sheu et al, 2010;Yeagley et al, 2010).…”

“…Al mismo tiempo, también se confirma que estas creencias influyen directamente en los intentos por persistir en un campo vocacional (metas) e indirectamente en ellos por mediación del interés (Blanco, 2011; Byars-Winston, Estrada, Howard, Davis y Zalapa, 2010; Byars-Winston y Fouad, 2008;Diegelman y Subich, 2001;Ferry, Fouad y Smith, 2000;Gainor y Lent, 1998;Lent, Brown, Schmidt, Brenner, Lyons y Treistman, 2003;Lent et al, 2005;Lent, López, López y Sheu, 2008;Lent, López, Sheu y López, 2011;Lent, Sheu, Gloster y Wilkins, 2010;Lent, Sheu, Singley, Schmidt, Schmidt y Gloster, 2008;Lent, Singley, Sheu, Schmidt y Schmidt, 2007;Schaub y Tokar, 2005;Sheu, Lent, Brown, Miller, Hennessy y Duffy, 2010;Waller, 2006). También se ha corroborado que las expectativas de resultado influyen en el interés y/o metas de los estudiantes (Blanco, 2011;Byars-Winston et al, 2010;Byars-Winston y Fouad, 2008;Diegelman y Subich, 2001;Ferry et al, 2000;Fouad et al, 2002;Gainor y Lent, 1998;Huang y Hsieh, 2011;Lent et al, 2001;Lindley, 2005;Sheu et al, 2010;Yeagley et al, 2010;Waller, 2006 Lent et al, 2011;Lent et al, 2007), en las expectativas de resultado (Lent et al, 2007;Sheu et al, 2010) o en el interés por una materia (Lent et al, 2001).…”

A research agenda for the vocational psychology of agriculture

“…A research agenda for the vocational psychology of agriculture. Australian Journal of Career Development, 24(3), 157-165. doi: 10.1177/1038416215586005 11 In the context of a public policy environment that encourages investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers (e.g., OECD, 2014), vocational psychology research is already making useful contributions to understanding the factors that influence students' choices and efficacy with respect to STEM careers, particularly the interactions among self-efficacy, race, and gender (Byars-Winston, Estrada, Howard, Davis, & Zalapa, 2010;Cordero, Porter, Israel, & Brown, 2010;Lee, Flores, Navarro, & Kanagui-Muñoz, 2015;Lent et al, 2005;Lent et al, 2015). It is conceivable that the extant vocational psychology research into STEM may readily transfer to agriculture.…”

Using an AR Drone Lab in a Secondary Education Classroom to Promote Quantitative Research

“…It is essential to build and practice these skills early on because postsecondary success is dependent on the habits of mind that students develop, the academic courses they take, and the extracurricular activities they pursue from the beginning of high school. 18 Extracurricular activities, specifically participation in sports teams, provide ample opportunity to develop collaborative and social communication skills. However, participation in sports tend to require motor control and several studies have reported on the motor control difficulties in children with ASD, including how proprioceptive difficulties among children with ASD may contribute to decreased motor planning and to disruptive behaviors that negatively affect their participation in daily tasks.…”