Understanding Factors that Sustain STEM Career Pathways

拟议的为期一年半的研究计划旨在解决一个全国性的需要，即了解STEM的个人学生职业生涯线在中学和高等教育环境中的学生职业生涯过程中是如何得到滋养和维持的，或者是如何受到抑制和削弱的。研究包括两个相互关联的研究。STEM职业生涯结果队列研究纵向跟踪学生的选课模式和中学后结果，以检查1993/94年度82,000名佛罗里达州高中毕业生的职业道路，以了解与STEM成功和不成功结果相关的人口统计学和经验变量。对STEM职业结果的回顾研究通过对150名成功进入STEM职业生涯的人的访谈，详细了解了维持或限制STEM职业流动性的一系列动机、机会、障碍和结构性限制。这些数据将与150名拥有类似资历但没有从事STEM职业的人进行匹配。基于对职业决策和职业路径的现有研究，我们将收集影响STEM职业持续性的关键背景因素、经历和职业认知的信息，详细考察追求不同类型STEM职业的个人在职业道路上的差异。智力价值目前，对于个人如何有效地安排从高中到大学乃至以后的学校和工作相关经历，以在STEM追求职业生涯，与那些没有这样做的人形成对比的是，很少有深入的理解。虽然其他研究已经调查了制度对个人结果的影响(参见Bowen&Amp；Bok，1998；Massey，Charles，Lundy和Amp；Fischer，2003)，这两项研究都没有(1)记录职业决策过程；(2)系统地关注职业道路和结果，或(3)依赖于混合方法方法。这两项研究都是基于对高等教育中平权行动政策的经济结果的兴趣。结果将使我们了解结构性支持和障碍如何影响学生的结果，包括学生出类拔萃和走上STEM职业道路的动机。结果还将显示促进或阻碍不同人口群体参与STEM教育和职业的因素的差异，为可能增加参与STEM的动机和机会的做法提供基础，特别是对妇女和其他代表性不足的少数群体而言。更广泛的影响我们的研究计划满足了国家对招聘熟练和有才华的美国工人进入STEM职业生涯的迫切需求。当代美国社会的特点是缺乏结构性支持，这使得青春期的职业决策显得尤为重要。此外，虽然大约60%的高中毕业生获得了一些大学教育，但实际上只有大约25%的人毕业时拥有4年制学位。这项研究可以为NSF建立和维持一支准备充分、代表美国民众的STEM劳动力队伍提供指导。

The proposed one and a half-year research program addresses a national need to develop an understanding of how individual student occupational career lines in STEM are either nourished and sustained or inhibited and attenuated during the course of student careers in secondary and post-secondary settings. Research includes two interrelated studies. The Cohort Study of STEM Career Outcomes tracks students longitudinally in terms of course taking patterns and post-secondary outcomes to examine career pathways taken by the 1993/94 cohort of 82,000 Florida high school graduates to understand demographic and experience variables associated with successful and unsuccessful outcomes related to STEM. The Retrospective Study of STEM Career Outcomes provides a detailed look at the range of motivations, opportunities, obstacles and structural constraints that either sustained or curtailed STEM career mobility through interviews conducted with 150 individuals who have moved successfully into STEM careers. These data will be compared with a matched group of 150 individuals with similar credentials who have not pursued STEM careers. Based on available research on career decisions and pathways, we will collect information on the key background factors, experiences and career cognitions affect STEM career persistence, looking in detail at differences in the career paths for individuals who have pursued different types of STEM careers. Intellectual Merit Currently, there is little in-depth understanding of how individuals effectively orchestrate school and work-related experiences over time from high school through college and beyond to pursue careers in STEM in contrast to those who do not. While other research has investigated institutional impacts on individual outcomes (c.f. Bowen & Bok, 1998; Massey, Charles, Lundy, & Fischer, 2003), neither of these studies (1) documents career decision making processes; (2) focuses systematically on career pathways and outcomes or (3) relies upon a mixed methods approach. Both studies are informed by an interest in economic outcomes of affirmative action policies in higher education. Results will offer an understanding of how structural supports and barriers affect student outcomes including student motivation to excel and embark upon STEM career pathways. Results will also show differences in factors that enhance or impede participation in STEM education and occupations for different demographic groups, providing a foundation for practices likely to increase motivation and opportunities to participate in STEM, particularly for women and other underrepresented minorities. Broader ImpactsOur program of research addresses an imperative national need for recruiting skilled and talented U.S. workers into STEM careers. Contemporary U.S. society is characterized by an absence of structured supports, making career decision-making in adolescence particularly significant. Furthermore, while approximately 60 percent of high school graduates obtain some college education only about 25 percent actually graduate with 4-year degrees. This research can provide guidance to NSF in building and sustaining a well-prepared STEM workforce representative of the American populace.