Social-Cognitive Predictors of STEM Career Interests and Goal Persistence in College Students With Disabilities From Racial and Ethnic Minority Backgrounds

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics’s (STEM) self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, and contextual supports and barriers to STEM educational goals in college students with disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgroundsDesign: Quantitative descriptive research design using hierarchical regression analysis (HRA)Participants: 115 underrepresented minority students with disabilities receiving services from the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Minority-Disability (MIND) Alliance in STEM project at Hunter College, City University of New York and Southern University at Baton Rouge for the years 2008−2011.Outcome Measures: The Social-Cognitive STEM measuresResults: The HRA results indicated that gender, advanced placement (AP) classes, father’s educational level, academic milestone self-efficacy, and STEM interest were significant predictors of goal persistence in African American and Hispanic college students with disabilities. The final model accounted for 57% of the variance in STEM persistence, which is considered a large effect size.Conclusion: The research findings provide good support for the use of the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) framework to identify predictors of STEM persistence and to design academic retention services and career development interventions for college students who are underrepresented minorities with disabilities.

Assessing Vocational Rehabilitation Engagement of People With Disabilities

“…Self-efficacy was moderately associated with VR engagement in this study, which is consistent with previous research (Lorig et al, 1996; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Wallston et al, 1994); self-efficacy, or competence, affects engagement. Finally, outcome expectancy was also moderately associated with VR engagement in this study and consistent with previous social-cognitive career theory research (Cardoso et al, 2013; Dearing, Barrick, Dermen, & Walitzer, 2005). The finding that VR engagement is associated with internal motivation, working alliance, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy indicates that it aligns well with the SDT framework (Deci & Ryan, 1985).…”

Factors That Influence Career Choice among Different Populations of Neuroscience Trainees

“…Research on questions about groups that make up a small proportion of a larger community is better served by targeted outreach, snowball sampling, and qualitative or ethnographic research, as opposed to the regressions used in the current work, which require substantial sample sizes. Previous work has shown that these identities face both similar and additional challenges in STEM advancement, such as lack of accommodations, stigma, and discrimination (E A Cech & Waidzunas, 2021;da Silva Cardoso et al, 2013;Slaton, 2013;Yoder & Mattheis, 2016).…”

Social-cognitive predictors of vocational outcomes in transition youth with epilepsy: Application of social cognitive career theory.

“…SCCT, an extension of Bandura’s (1986) general social–cognitive theory, has been recognized as one of the most powerful theories of career development for persons with and without disabilities from diverse backgrounds (Betz, 2007; Lent, 2005; Lent et al, 1994, 2000, 2008). Although the literature describes SCCT as a fitting conceptual framework for examining how career self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goals, interests, and contextual factors influence career choices of individuals with disabilities (e.g., Cardoso, Dutta, Chiu, Johnson, Kundu, & Chan, 2015; Dutta et al, 2015; Ochs & Roessler, 2004), there is very little applied research on how these factors influence work participation among individuals with epilepsy, particularly youth and young adults. The purpose of this study was to identify career behaviors that best predict work participation among transition youth with epilepsy by using the SCCT as a framework to assess career development behaviors (readiness/willingness to engage in work), and to test a direct relationship between the SCCT predictor variables and work participation.…”