Arizona’s Rising STEM Occupational Demands and Declining Participation in the Scientific Workforce: An Examination of Attitudes among African Americans toward STEM College Majors and Careers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations constitute a growing sector of Arizona’s economy. However, the number of African Americans earning degrees related to these occupations has not kept pace with this growth. Increasing the participation of African Americans in STEM education fields and subsequent related occupations in Arizona is vital to growing and maintaining the state’s economic stature. This objective is made even more compelling given that each year, from 2008– 2018, there are 3,671 projected job openings in STEM fields in Arizona. This study explores the extent to which the attitudes held by African Americans in Arizona toward STEM related majors and careers influence their likelihood of joining the state’s scientific workforce. Our analyses reveal the importance of career consideration, confidence in one’s ability to be successful in a STEM related field, and family support of the pursuit of STEM education and careers.Educatio

Factors That Contribute to Lower Enrollments of Underrepresented Minority and Female Graduate Students in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at Bay Area California State University Campuses and Mitigating Factors From Student Perspectives

Over the last decade the Bay Area region has witnessed a lack of diversity in Silicon Valley technology professions, a subject of current political and popular discourse. The California State University (CSU) system provides accessible higher education; the CSU system approach to accessible higher education affirms the distinctness of regions, prepares graduates for professions in these distinct regions, and affirms the diversity in the state and the world. The CSU fall 2019 - 2021 enrollment dashboard data indicated there was a decrease in enrollment of underrepresented minority (URM) in graduate programs across three Bay Area campuses. Public fall 20119 - 2021 enrollment data disaggregated by degree program indicates URM participation in Computer and Information Sciences decreased to less than 10% of the graduate student body across the three Bay Area campuses; URM enrollment levels a decrease to approximately 10% at the graduate level in Engineering. Graduate education is a lever of social mobility, professional advancement, and provides opportunities to access knowledge economy professions.The Bay Area CSU campuses are situated at the nexus of the knowledge economy. The decrease in URM student participation in related disciplines at the graduate level is a problem of practice that raises questions of the role and mission of the CSU. Equity in opportunity in a regional economy dominated by technology professions intersects with CSU graduate education as a lever of social change and social mobility. Underrepresentation of minorities in technology professions and in graduate education is not without social consequences. A homogenous Bay Area knowledge economy workforce may result in new layers of digital infrastructures and applications that reinforce dominant cultural perspectives and biases. This qualitative research study explores the experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of URM graduate students in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) disciplines at three public universities situated in the Silicon Valley knowledge economy. A transformative worldview and critical theory guide case study data collection and analysis of semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and qualitative textual analysis of related CSE policy, research, and graduate community content at the three Bay Area CSU campuses. This exploratory research study attempts to uncover the sense making and meanings URM graduate students construct through the graduate student lifecycle. This study focuses on graduate students who succeed in academic cultures that are selective, competitive, homogenous, and that may be unwelcoming. This research may guide higher education reform to recognize inherent assets, talents, and aspirations URM students bring into academic culture and thus reshape campus cultures toward diversity and inclusion

Impacts of Internship Experiences on Professional Identity Development for Undergraduate Women of Color in Engineering

Women of color are historically underrepresented in STEM, specifically the field of engineering (National Science Board, National Science Foundation, 2019). In considering ways to assist in women of color’s retention and persistence in engineering, it is necessary to recognize the role internships, a form of experiential education, at the undergraduate level impact professional identity development. The purpose of this study was to understand how internship experiences shape professional identity development for undergraduate women of color in engineering. Using a constructivist epistemology, a theoretical framework integrating social cognitive theory and intersectionality, and an interpretive methodology; the researcher utilized semi-structured interviews and focus groups to capture the impact of internship experiences on 12 undergraduate women of color at Western State University, an engineering-focused institution in the western United States. Five themes emerged in this research. The first two themes spoke to external factors within work environments. These included the impact of support structures within internship experiences and participant perception of company culture. The next three themes specifically addressed ways in which participants internalized their internships in their own self-understanding. These included a greater developed awareness of their salient and valued identities and an ability to articulate these values as related to a future career, an increased sense of confidence and self-agency in their career management, and more career clarity and sense of direction and purpose moving forward. Further, the researcher offers tangible suggestions for practice for employers, university and career services professionals, and the larger STEM community

Factors That Contribute to Persistence and Retention of Underrepresented Minority Undergraduate Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

The objective of this research was to identify specific factors that contribute to underrepresented minority (African American, Hispanic, Native American) undergraduate students‟ success in STEM disciplines at a regional university during the 2007-2010 timeframe. As more underrepresented minority (URM) students complete STEM degrees, many will possess the skills to become part of the domestic human capital needed to meet U. S. workforce demands and enhance the nation‟s STEM innovation. According to Burke and Mattis (2007), the lack of URM students in STEM education and in the workforce is one of the major contributors to STEM shortages in the United States. In this study, the investigator employed a sequential mixed method design to comprehensively examine which specific factors contributed to URM student success in STEM. Mixed methods design was necessary in order to capture the complexities of factors contributing to URM persistence and retention in STEM disciplines. Data collection and analysis was conducted to address four research objectives in two distinct sequential phases. In Phase I, quantitative analysis of archival data (taken from the regional university‟s ISIS and SAM databases) was used to explore the impact of specific factors on URM student persistence and retention. Logistic regression was used as the statistical procedure to examine objectives one and two. In Phase II, qualitative data were collected and analyzed using a nominal group technique. The researcher met with eighteen URM students (11 African American, four Hispanics, and three Native American) and posed two questions based on the quantitative findings as to why they persisted and were retained in STEM disciplines. This study was designed to help students and this institution better understand how URM students can navigate and overcome barriers to obtaining STEM degrees. According to George, Neale, Van Horne, and Malcolm (2001), tapping the reservoir of URM could help in meeting the STEM workforce demand as these minorities continue to show great increases in college enrollment. The findings for objectives one and two revealed four factors that were statistically significant contributors of URM student success in STEM disciplines. They included college GPA, academically rigorous curriculum, percent of hours completed, and percent of hours passed. The findings of objectives three and four revealed the top five rankings of URM persistence and retention factors in STEM success. The researcher employed a nominal group technique to collect and analyze this qualitative data

The Role of Faculty Mentoring in Improving Retention and Completion Rates for Historically Underrepresented STEM Students

There is a growing recognition of the need for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers who provide diverse perspectives enabling companies to keep up with the demands of the 21st -century workforce. Creating a diverse workforce requires improving access to STEM education for historically underrepresented students, including low-income students and first-generation students. However, significant challenges and barriers exist. The purpose of this paper is to showcase an innovative approach to mentoring historically underrepresented STEM students which integrates photovoice and photo-elicitation. This new approach in mentoring takes student participation one step further by asking students to document and share their lived experiences through photographs (e.g., photovoice). Then, photo-elicitation is used to further engage students in discussing what led to their subsequent empowerment in leveraging successes or overcoming barriers. The study was conducted with 19 participants who were primarily American Indian students attending a small college in Wisconsin, USA. The findings suggest students benefited from the mentoring program and perceived it as an enriching learning experience which aided in goal development, accountability, and an opportunity to learn more about strategies for student success. The implementation of this new approach and the results gathered from this study are important as they may inform educational leaders and postsecondary institutions serving historically underrepresented STEM students on supports and strategies that could be carried out on their campuses

Organizational Support, Satisfaction, and STEM Research Career Plans in Pipeline Interventions: A Strengths-Based Approach among Underrepresented Students.

This policy-relevant study provides new insight into the social organization of pipeline interventions for underrepresented (UR) students and how strong organizational support can help to explain successful Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes. Guided by the strengths-based role stress and adaptation literature, the study focused on two major Research Aims: (1) to develop reliable and valid measures of strong formal and informal organizational support that are useful for research on UR students in pipeline interventions; and (2) to explore how strong formal and informal organizational support measures may help to explain overall program satisfaction and successful STEM research career plans among UR students. To investigate several related questions, multivariate analyses were conducted on panel survey data from UR students in a strong pipeline program with multiple program components and UR students in other pipeline interventions with fewer formal program components. With respect to the Research Aim 1, factor analyses clearly supported the reliability and validity of both formal and informal organizational support scales. This NIH-NIGMS supported study revealed that UR students in a nationally recognized Summer Research Opportunity Program designed with multiple components had higher scores on the strong formal organizational support scale items. Moreover, UR students with higher formal organizational support also had significantly higher informal support from program peers than from either faculty mentors or program staff sources. Overall, findings on Research Aim 2 were less clear as STEM major emerged as the strongest predictor of STEM research career plans. However, there were: (1) a clear relationship between strong formal organizational support and program satisfaction, and (2) a significant but modest relationship between program satisfaction and STEM research career plans. Racial/ethnic and gender comparisons revealed some interesting directions for future policy-relevant research and practice to broaden participation in STEM research careers. The relevance of study findings was also discussed with an emphasis on refining a strengths-based model of successful STEM outcomes, guiding future research as well as implications for program practice and policy.PhDHigher EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111494/1/tashab_1.pd

The Development and Implementation of ALIGN: A Multidimensional Program Designed to Enhance the Success of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Graduate Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders

The critical lack of racially and ethnically diverse healthcare professionals in the field of Communication Sciences & Disorders (CSD) in contrast to the increasing diversity of the U.S. population may contribute to healthcare disparities and negatively impact healthcare outcomes. It is therefore imperative for transformational programs and practices to be enacted to substantially increase the number of CSD professionals representing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). As training institutions that graduate and contribute to the certification of CSD professionals, universities are fundamental for contributing to this change. Numerous barriers have been identified that limit the number of underrepresented minority students who matriculate in and graduate from speech-language pathology and audiology graduate programs. At Syracuse University, a group of academic and clinical CSD faculty developed a program to specifically address these barriers: the Academic Skill Building and Networking (ALIGN) program. ALIGN implements a multifaceted approach toward facilitating the success of CSD BIPOC graduate students through the integration of academic and professional skill building, peer mentoring and networking, and professional mentoring and networking into the program curriculum. This study described the rationale and development of the ALIGN program, and reported quantitative and qualitative survey results to determine the preliminary effects of this program on an inaugural cohort of ALIGN participants. Overall, quantitative and qualitative data indicated that ALIGN had a substantial, positive impact on academic skills relative to study habits, understanding difficult course concepts, and general learning, and provided crucial support and connection opportunities with fellow BIPOC students

The Lived Experiences of Challenges Faced by Female STEM Degree Holders while in Their Programs: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological research study was to describe the challenges female higher education students (FHESs) experience in their science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree program. The central research question guiding the study was: How do female higher education STEM research participants describe their lived experiences while in their degree programs? Sub-Question one was, How do female higher education students describe the influence their personal history had on their choice to pursue a higher education STEM degree? Sub-question two was: How do female higher education students in STEM program describe their reality versus their expectation going into the field? Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy served as the lens to describe the participants’ experiences overcoming and successfully completing their STEM degree, despite facing challenges in their programs. A supporting theory for the study was post-modern feminist theory, to frame the experiences of being a female student in a male-dominated field of study like STEM. The study was conducted with 10 female research participants who had graduated with a STEM degree in the past 25 years. Data collection methods included initial questionnaires for identifying the prospective research participants, followed by individual interviews, a focus group, and a reflective writing prompt. Data analysis was conducted via van Manen’s hermeneutical method of phenomenological reflection, clarification, and explicit description of the meaning of the lived experiences of the female STEM degree holders. This study concluded that female STEM degree students continue to be challenged by a silent gender bias, the demands and requirements of their programs and the balance between home, family and school. This study also found that female STEM students were able to successfully complete their degree programs despite challenges

It Takes a Village: The Role of Emic and Etic Adaptive Strengths in the Persistence of Black Men in Engineering Graduate Programs

Black men, underrepresented in engineering, constitute a missing segment of the population who could contribute to the global knowledge economy. To address this national concern, stakeholders need additional research on strategies that aid in Black men’s persistence. This study explores the experiences of 30 Black men in engineering graduate programs. Three factors are identified as helping them persist from year to year, and in many cases through completion of the doctorate: the role of family, spirituality and faith-based community, and undergraduate mentors. The article concludes with implications for future research and professional practice that may improve the experiences of Black men in engineering graduate programs, which may also increase the chances that they will remain in the engineering workforce

The Perceived Undergraduate Classroom Experiences of African-American Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore African-American women's perceptions of undergraduate STEM classroom experiences, and the ways in which those experiences have supported or hindered their persistence in physics majors. The major research question guiding this study was: How do African-American women perceive the climate and interactions with peers and faculty in undergraduate STEM classrooms? Using qualitative methods and a multiple case study design, a sample of 11 women were interviewed. This study was also informed by data from 31 African-American women who participated in focus group interviews at annual meetings of the National Society of Black and Hispanic Physicists. Findings indicated that the women excelled in small courses with faculty who took a personal interest in their success. They also perceived that there was a pervasive culture in physics and other STEM departments that often conflicted with their own worldviews. Findings also indicated that the women's perceptions of classroom experiences varied widely depending on professors' behaviors, institution types, and the level of courses. It is anticipated that through a better understanding of their perceptions of STEM learning environments and factors in their persistence, STEM faculty and departments can better retain and support this population of students