Assessing influential factors on high school and community college students' STEM pathways

Women, Latinx and African-American students continue to be underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields and STEM related jobs. As we think about ways to increase STEM professionals, we need to consider what impacts students' career choice into STEM, especially among students who continue to be underrepresented in these fields. My dissertation consists of three studies, which highlight how students' STEM pathways are influenced by factors that are both in and out of their control. I focus on understanding changes in high school students' STEM major intent, as well as factors that may impact community college students' STEM major pathways. The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) was used in Study 1 to assess how school level factors impact high school students' STEM intent from their freshman to junior year, using multi-level modeling and the status-attainment theory. I assessed if student groups (e.g., low-income students, Latinx/African-American students) attend schools with different amounts of resources (certified school personnel, academic assistance, percent of hours counselors assist students, and STEM courses/programs). And secondly, how those four resources impact students' change in STEM intent from 9th to 11th grade (e.g., change from being interested in STEM to being disinterested, or change from being disinterested in STEM to being interested in STEM majors). My first paper reveals students from different backgrounds attend schools with different school resources, and interestingly findings reveal that Black students attend schools with more of these resources in comparison to white students; Hispanic students attend schools with more certified school personnel. In addition to having varying access to resources, there are also differences in how students from different backgrounds are impacted by these resources. Although, school resources in general did not impact STEM intent, academic assistance and STEM course/program availability positively impacts Black students STEM intent (persisting or adding into STEM), while only STEM course and program availability positively impact Hispanic students' STEM persistence. This study reveals different groups of students may benefit from different resources in comparison to white students; their access to these resources may differ as well as their experiences with these resources. Moreover, students may have access to resources, but these resources may not be living up to their full potential in enabling students in their STEM journey to find a successful career path in a STEM field. In Study 2, I transition into community colleges where many underrepresented, low-income, students of color begin their postsecondary education. In this study I assess how programs, which are designed to assist students in their academic journey impact different enrollment and degree completion outcomes. Specifically, how math remediation impacts students' academic and STEM momentum and the type of degree students obtain. Remediation may have unintended negative impacts on students since it requires them to take an additional math course, thereby lengthening their required coursework. This study observes students who began their community college journey in two colleges in California (CaliBay1 and CaliBay2) during the 2010-2013 academic years. Regression discontinuity (RD) analysis is used to estimate the causal effects of being assigned to upper-level math remediation. Results reveal remediation does not encourage or discourage students from enrolling for one, three, six, or nine quarters, but has a positive impact on students' passing their first math course, which may serve as a positive factor on their academic momentum. Remediation also has a positive impact on earning an Associate of Arts/Bachelor of Arts, but importantly a negative impact on obtaining an Associate of Science/Bachelor of Science degree. However, the negative impact of obtaining an Associate of Science degree is not as precise as that of earning an AA/BA. When focusing on students' that started in with a STEM related interest, there was no significant impact of math remediation on them persisting in STEM (earning an AS/BS), although this is also not a precise estimate given only 149 out of 2,018 students persisted in STEM. Seeing that very few students' start in STEM and even fewer persist Study 3 focuses on understanding the complex STEM pathways of Latinx students in community colleges. Community college is part of many students' STEM pathway, especially for Latinx students in California. Latinx students tend to be overrepresented in community colleges and remediation courses (Snyder, De Brey, & Dillow, 2016; Jones, Sugar, Baumgardner, Raymond, Moore, Davidson, & Denham, 2012). Thus, in order to better understand the experiences of a particular group in community college and their pathway in and out of STEM, I conducted exploratory semi-structured interviews of 18 Latinx students. This last paper focuses on the different internal and external factors that impact Latinx students' major choice and academic decisions (e.g., course taking options). This study reveals the complexity of their everyday lives trying to complete STEM course sequences while working part-or full-time jobs, the importance of having access to good course assistance, how students' engage with STEM, what Latinx students do to be successful in these fields, and what community colleges can do to assist them with their needs. This study also discusses the factors that are impacting community college Latinx students who switch from STEM to non-STEM fields or non-STEM to STEM fields, and how their experiences in their coursework (e.g., remedial versus college level math) differs and impacts their major of choice. By combining the status attainment theory framework and community cultural wealth conceptual framework, this study demonstrates how students connect different academic and personal interests with their degree and career goals, as well as the capital and persistence students bring from their culture and their upbringing to their academics. My dissertation addresses diverse factors that impact students at different points of their STEM pathway. By understanding the impact of diverse programs, educators and policy makers can use this information to assess how they can enhance particular resources and how they can improve STEM education especially for Latinx students. For example, policy makers and institutions of higher education can work together to create better work-study programs that align with students' interests and design programs that allow students to shadow STEM professionals. This policy relevant dissertation contributes to our knowledge on vulnerable communities in an academic area where students of color are needed and continue to be underrepresented. My research shows how resources may have unintended impacts for students and how resources also have differential impacts for different groups of students. Not all students are exposed to the same resources, or the same capital, particularly the social capital and social networks that can open the door to STEM interests or potential STEM careers. There are school resources that appear to have the ability to assist and engage students, but are not being implemented to their full potential. Students should have the opportunity to explore STEM fields and understand what STEM degrees consist of before dismissing it as an option.

Keywords: Education.
Advisor: Padilla Amado M. 
Barron Brigid 
Bettinger Eric 
Reardon Sean F.