Beyond Student Factors: a Study of the Impact on STEM Career Attainment

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-386
Author(s):  
Tuba Ketenci ◽  
Audrey Leroux ◽  
Maggie Renken
Keyword(s):  
Career Attainment ◽  
Stem Career ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Unclogging the pipeline: advancement to full professor in academic STEM

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helga Van Miegroet ◽  
Christy Glass ◽  
Ronda Roberts Callister ◽  
Kimberly Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Governance Structure ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Full Professor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Career Attainment ◽  
Career Trajectories ◽  
Promotion Process ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and undocumented. The purpose of this paper is to analyze gender differences in advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western USA, before and after the National Science Foundation (NSF)-ADVANCE Program (2003–2008). Design/methodology/approach Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and 2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated. Findings This study documents increased representation of women in all ranks within the STEM colleges, including that of full professor due to ADVANCE efforts. It also demonstrates the role of greater gender awareness and formalization of procedures in reducing the variability in the time as associate professor until promotion to full professor for all faculty members, while also shrinking gender disparities in career attainment. As a result of the codification of the post-tenure review timeline toward promotion, more recently hired faculty are promoted more swiftly and consistently, irrespective of gender. Post-ADVANCE, both male and female faculty members express a greater understanding of and confidence in the promotion process and no longer see it as either a hurdle or source of gender inequality in upward career mobility. Research limitations/implications While data were collected at a single university, demographics and career experiences by women mirror those at other research universities. This study shows that within a given institution-specific governance structure, long-lasting effects on faculty career trajectories can be achieved, by focusing efforts on creating greater transparency in expectations and necessary steps toward promotion, by reducing barriers to information flown, by standardizing and codifying the promotion process, and by actively engaging administrators as collaborators and change agents in the transformation process. Originality/value This study addresses mid-career dynamics and potential mechanisms that explain gender gaps in the promotion to full professor, a largely understudied aspect of gender disparities in career attainment within STEM. It shows how institutional policy changes, intended to alleviate gender disparities, can benefit the career trajectories of all faculty members. Specifically, this study highlights the crucial role of codifying procedures and responsibilities in neutralizing subjectivity and inconsistencies in promotion outcomes due to varying departmental climates.

scholarly journals A THEORY-BASED INSTRUMENT TO EVALUATE MOTIVATIONAL TRIGGERS PERCEIVED BY STUDENTS IN STEM CAREER-RELATED SCENARIOS

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 836-854
Author(s):  
Tormi Kotkas ◽  
Jack Holbrook ◽  
Miia Rannikmäe
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
School Science ◽  
Situational Interest ◽  
Test Scenario ◽  
Instrument Evaluation ◽  
Stem Career ◽  
Learning School ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Validated Instrument

Students’ lack of motivation in learning school science has been recognized as a problem, due to its negative impact on students´ STEM-related career choices. For supporting students´ motivation to study science, the use of an introduction which sets the scene, sometimes called a scenario, has been recommended. Although scenarios, which introduce STEM-related careers in an everyday life problem solving context, are seen as useful tools for the teachers, they are not automatically guaranteed to be motivating to students. The current research aims to develop an empirically tested and validated instrument to measure the impact of context-based scenarios, through evaluating perceived motivational triggers such as relevance, interest and enjoyment by 7th grade students. An analysis of students´ responses showed that the test scenario was able to trigger mostly situational interest toward the topic of energetics. Only a small number of students indicated motivation to take the learning of this topic further. Keywords: STEM-related careers, STEM career-related scenarios, science teaching materials, motivational triggers, instrument evaluation.

scholarly journals High-Revenue Athletics Institutional Policies and Practices Aligned with Key Resources for STEM Career Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 113-139
Author(s):  
Sheron Mark
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Division I ◽  
Institutional Policies ◽  
Stem Career Development ◽  
Stem Career ◽  
Study Hall ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Policies And Practices

This study sought to explore the ways in which athletics departments within high-revenue National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I universities established institutional policies and practices aligned with providing key science, technology, engineering, and mathematics career development resources. These resources were derived from an earlier study focused on Black male student-athletes in high-revenue Division I athletics. The athletics department websites of a sample of high-revenue Atlantic Coast Conference institutions were reviewed seeking evidence of such policy and practice alignment with STEM career development. The resources identified from this review included explicit programming and student-athlete experiences for career, personal, and cultural identity development; designated institutional support personnel, including academic advisers, career counselors, and learning specialists, with the potential to provide personalized social support and academic support; and tutoring and study hall as additional academic support practices. The need for equity and student-centeredness is discussed in light of the implementation of each of these resources, as well as considerations of the impact of athletics departments demonstrating leadership and accountability in administering these resources, as compared to university-wide departments of academic and student affairs.

The Relationships among High School STEM Learning Experiences and Students’ Intent to Declare and Declaration of a STEM Major in College

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Cecilia Bottia ◽  
Elizabeth Stearns ◽  
Roslyn Arlin Mickelson ◽  
Stephanie Moller ◽  
Ashley Dawn Parler
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Stem Major ◽  
Stem Career ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

Background/Context Schools are integral to augmenting and diversifying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. This is because K–12 schools can inspire and reinforce students’ interest in STEM, in addition to academically preparing them to pursue a STEM career. Previous literature emphasizes the importance of high-quality STEM academic preparation in high school and the role of informal and formal exposure to STEM as important influences on students’ chances of following a STEM career. Interestingly, although many students decide to major in STEM fields while they are in high school, the majority of the extant literature about why students choose STEM majors primarily focuses on students’ experiences during the college years. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Through our research, we seek to investigate how learning experiences of inspiration/reinforcement/preparation toward STEM that students have during high school can help explain the stark differences in STEM involvement by gender and ethnicity. We first investigate the importance of high school inspirational/ reinforcing/ preparatory experiences for students’ intent to major in STEM while in high school. We then see how they relate to students’ actual choice of a STEM major. We do this focusing on gender and racial/ethnic differences in outcomes. Specifically, we analyze the impact of the timing of high school STEM courses (algebra, biology, and physics), the quantity of STEM-related classes, and the quality of these courses on students’ decision to pursue a college STEM major. Research Design This is an analysis of quantitative data gathered about members of North Carolina's 2004 high school graduating class who also matriculated to one of the 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina system. Our research developed in two different stages. In the first stage, we utilize multilevel binomial models to examine students’ intent to declare a STEM major in their senior year of high school. In the second stage, we employ multilevel multinomial models to analyze chances of declaring a STEM major during the years 2005–2011, when students are in college. Findings/Results Findings suggest that STEM experiences of inspiration/reinforcement/ preparation during high school interact with demographic variables to moderate students’ interest in STEM. Taking physics and intending to major in STEM during high school are the variables most closely associated with students’ choice of STEM as a major. In addition, taking physics is especially important for young women's odds of declaration of STEM. Conclusions/Recommendations Findings suggest several policy recommendations: Provide a variety of high school learning STEM experiences that will link and augment students’ interest in STEM; change the way physics is presented to female students; utilizing curricula and pedagogy that focus on ways that physics is personally relevant may increase the number of young women who take the course in high school; increase the quality of the STEM-related academic preparation of students; particular attention should be given to underrepresented subgroups of students; increase the offering of math and science-focused program at schools; and increase the availability of more STEM-related co- and extracurricular experiences available to youth.

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