Family Socioeconomic Status and Choice of Stem Major in College: An Analysis of a National Sample

The current study uses the data of Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) to examine patterns of choice of STEM majors in college by students from different family socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds. Logistic regression results show that low-SES students are disadvantaged in the pursuit of STEM majors. Higher family SES compensates for negative predictors of STEM enrollment, such as gender and race, and strengthens the effect of positive predictor, such as math preparation. The gender and racial gaps in STEM enrollment narrows for students from higher SES families, and the positive correlation between math preparation and STEM enrollment strengthens with the increase of family SES, except for lowest SES students. Family's immigrant background does not play a role in choice of STEM major. Results indicate that low-SES students may not possess the information and/or skills necessary to make well-informed decision of STEM enrollment so as to maximize their opportunity to succeed in college. Keywords: college major choice; STEM education; socioeconomic status; student decision making; gender and racial gap in college Educating a strong workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is considered crucial for the United States to retain its global leadership position in a science and technology dominated global economy (National Science and Technology Council, 2013). An examination of college enrollment statistics in STEM majors shows that the current enrollment level is insufficient to meet the nation's human resource needs in STEM fields, suggesting mat mere will be a gap of one million STEM professionals between the nation's economy needs and what colleges and universities deliver over the next decade (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2012). The need to increase the production of STEM degrees among domestic students is pressing. The focus of previous research on students' choice of STEM majors has been almost exclusively placed on gender and race/ethnicity as sources of inequality (e.g., Dickson, 2010). While their relevance in students' education decision making is significant (Smyth & McArdle, 2004), gender and race/ethnicity are not the only factors that influence students' decisions regarding STEM enrollment, nor are they the only sources of inequalities in STEM enrollment in college. The process of choosing college major is "seemingly voluntary" (Correll, 2001, p. 1692); however, it is influenced by numerous factors ranging from role models (Hackett, 1989) to high school experiences (Federman, 2007). If the STEM enrollment decision in college is not purely voluntary, then what are the influencing factors that are beyond individuals' control? Since all societies are stratified and stratification in the society influences inequalities in education (Sianou-Kyrgiou, 2010), understanding the relationship between the main dimensions of stratification in the larger society and educational phenomena is the key to understanding educational phenomena. In the American society, gender, race, and class are the three major social stratification dimensions (Mixon, 2007). It is generally recognized that students from lower SES families are disadvantaged in higher education in aspects such as access, engagement, and degree attainment (Flores, 2007). However, in research of STEM enrollment, family SES as a dimension of inequality has not received much attention as compared to gender and race. Limited empirical evidence suggests that family SES is related to students' higher education decision making, such as choice of institution and study field (e.g., Hearn, 1984; Mullen, 2010). However, these studies are either based on limited, non-representative samples that lack national generalizability, or focus on only certain types of institutions, and none of these studies focuses on students' choice of STEM majors (e.g., Goyette & Mullen, 2006). …