Using a Champion-Oriented Mindset to Overcome the Challenges of Graduate School

Despite efforts to increase diversity, a glaring underrepresentation of minorities (URM) persists in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Graduate school can be a stressful step in the STEM pipeline, especially for students previously unaware of the structure and challenges of post-graduate education. To promote successful minority participation in STEM and prepare prospective students for the impending challenges of graduate school, we developed a workshop based on the mentoring and fostering of a champion-oriented mindset entitled, The Trials and Tribulations of Graduate School: How Do You Make an Impact?. We administered the workshop to a cohort of university undergraduates and conducted pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure students perceived need for instruction on specific workshop topics. The results suggest that the workshop was well received by the students and provided information that they considered helpful to help navigate the graduate school process.

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Inside the STEM pipeline: Changes in students’ biomedical career plans across the college years

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abe0985 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (18) ◽

pp. eabe0985

Author(s):

Emily Q. Rosenzweig ◽

Cameron A. Hecht ◽

Stacy J. Priniski ◽

Elizabeth A. Canning ◽

Michael W. Asher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Graduate Education ◽

Career Paths ◽

College Graduation ◽

Stem Fields ◽

Career Plans ◽

Science Technology ◽

Stem Pipeline ◽

Interview Survey ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Biomedical Fields

Researchers often invoke the metaphor of a pipeline when studying participation in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), focusing on the important issue of students who “leak” from the pipeline, but largely ignoring students who persist in STEM. Using interview, survey, and institutional data over 6 years, we examined the experiences of 921 students who persisted in biomedical fields through college graduation and planned to pursue biomedical careers. Despite remaining in the biomedical pipeline, almost half of these students changed their career plans, which was almost twice the number of students who abandoned biomedical career paths altogether. Women changed plans more often and were more likely than men to change to a career requiring fewer years of post-graduate education. Results highlight the importance of studying within-pipeline patterns rather than focusing only on why students leave STEM fields.

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Supporting the STEM Pipeline: Linking Applied STEM Course-Taking in High School to Declaring a STEM Major in College

Education Finance and Policy ◽

10.1162/edfp_a_00185 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 177-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Michael A. Gottfried ◽

Robert Bozick

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

College Major ◽

Major Choice ◽

Longitudinal Survey ◽

College Major Choice ◽

Science Technology ◽

Stem Pipeline ◽

Stem Major ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Scientific Fields

Recently, through the support from the Obama administration, the traditional STEM curricula (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in high schools are being updated with integrated, applied STEM courses (e.g., technology and engineering) in order to enhance the “real world” applicability of scientific fields and ultimately to strengthen the link between what students learn in high school and college major choice. Using longitudinal survey and transcript data, this study examines whether taking these applied STEM courses in high school can predict higher odds of declaring a STEM major in college. The findings reveal that taking applied STEM courses in high school is associated with a higher probability of declaring a STEM college major for four-year students. Moreover, applied STEM course-taking is highly predictive of declaring an applied STEM major. Implications are discussed.

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Missing in Action: Gifted Black Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Gifted Child Today ◽

10.1177/1076217519880593 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 55-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kristina Henry Collins ◽

Nicole M. Joseph ◽

Donna Y. Ford

Keyword(s):

Underrepresented Students ◽

Sex Discrimination ◽

Black Girls ◽

Race And Gender ◽

Science Technology ◽

Girls In Science ◽

Stem Pipeline ◽

And Gender ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Missing In Action

Many commonplace stories, including the authors and those they have heard, substantiate a critical and undeniable truth: marginalized and underrepresented students’ development through the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline is centered on race and gender and is impacted by (un)intentional and (in)formal interactions with other variables. A noticeable issue in STEM and gifted education is the poor presence of Black girls. We contend that for females, the disconnect between grades, class performance, and interest is all too familiar. This is true even if they are gifted, and especially for Black girls. This article is written with the resolve to address the underpinning complexity of contemporary challenges of underrepresentation of gifted Black girls in STEM, which are rooted in intersectional issues of race and sex discrimination. We address barriers and offer recommendations for change, mostly grounded in relevant theories.

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From the NSF: The National Science Foundation’s Investments in Broadening Participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education through Research and Capacity Building

CBE—Life Sciences Education ◽

10.1187/cbe.16-01-0059 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. fe7 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Sylvia M. James ◽

Susan R. Singer

Keyword(s):

Persons With Disabilities ◽

New Era ◽

Innovative Strategies ◽

Minority Participation ◽

Science Technology ◽

Stem Disciplines ◽

National Science ◽

Broad Array ◽

Broadening Participation ◽

And Mathematics

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a long history of investment in broadening participation (BP) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. A review of past NSF BP efforts provides insights into how the portfolio of programs and activities has evolved and the broad array of innovative strategies that has been used to increase the participation of groups underrepresented in STEM, including women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. While many are familiar with these long-standing programmatic efforts, BP is also a key component of NSF’s strategic plans, has been highlighted in National Science Board reports, and is the focus of ongoing outreach efforts. The majority of familiar BP programs, such as the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (now 25 years old), are housed in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. However, fellowship programs such as the Graduate Research Fellowships and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships under the Directorate for Biological Sciences (and parallel directorates in other STEM disciplines) are frequently used to address underrepresentation in STEM disciplines. The FY2016 and FY2017 budget requests incorporate funding for NSF INCLUDES, a new cross-agency BP initiative that will build on prior successes while addressing national BP challenges. NSF INCLUDES invites the use of innovative approaches for taking evidence-based best practices to scale, ushering in a new era in NSF BP advancement.

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Progress and problems of gender equality in Japanese academics and geosciences

Advances in Geosciences ◽

10.5194/adgeo-53-195-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 195-203

Author(s):

Rie S. Hori

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Graduate Students ◽

Gender Equality ◽

Graduate School ◽

Academic Staff ◽

The European Union ◽

Unconscious Bias ◽

Public Attention ◽

Science Technology ◽

And Mathematics

Abstract. In its gender equality status, Japan lags behind the European Union (EU) and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Only 16.7 % of academic staff in national universities are women. Although there has been a slow improvement during the last 45 years, the percentage of female staff remains particularly low in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. In 2018, female stuff accounted for only 12.3 % in agriculture, 8.7 % in science, and 6.2 % in engineering. The number of female graduate students and the number of female members of the Japanese geoscience societies have been steadily increasing since the 1998 campaign that increased the total number of graduate school places. However, low representation of females in academic job positions, as well as among the recipients of academic awards, suggests that a strong unconscious bias against women still exists in Japan. Continuing public attention to these issues is essential for the improvement of the situation.

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Work Engagement and Research Output Among Female and Male Scientists

Journal of Personnel Psychology ◽

10.1027/1866-5888/a000150 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 55-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lonneke Dubbelt ◽

Sonja Rispens ◽

Evangelia Demerouti

Keyword(s):

Work Engagement ◽

Research Output ◽

Research Performance ◽

Daily Work ◽

Time Control ◽

Science Technology ◽

And Performance ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Number Of Publications ◽

The Relationship

Abstract. Women have a minority position within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and, consequently, are likely to face more adversities at work. This diary study takes a look at a facilitating factor for women’s research performance within academia: daily work engagement. We examined the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between two behaviors (i.e., daily networking and time control) and daily work engagement, as well as its effect on the relationship between daily work engagement and performance measures (i.e., number of publications). Results suggest that daily networking and time control cultivate men’s work engagement, but daily work engagement is beneficial for the number of publications of women. The findings highlight the importance of work engagement in facilitating the performance of women in minority positions.

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