GSE: Working Class Women using Community College Pathways to Four Year STEM Degrees

GSE：工薪阶层女性通过社区大学途径获得四年制 STEM 学位

• 批准号: 0734000
• 负责人: Becky Packard
• 金额: $ 42.65万
• 依托单位: Mount Holyoke College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2012-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0734000&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GSE; Working; Class; Women; using

Female African American and Latino students from working class families are significantly underrepresented in science and technical fields, especially computer science and engineering. Since over fifty percent of first generation, lower-income income Latinos and African American women use two year colleges as an entry point to the four year degree, and so few actually complete that pathway, research is needed to better understand this pathway and the experience of ethnically diverse working class women within the pathway. This study uses a mixed methods short-term longitudinal sequential design. Two cohorts are followed over a 15 month time period: 1) 75 community college students accepted as transfers to 4-year colleges to pursue STEM degrees, and 2) 75 recent high school graduates entering community college for the first time. Data sources include ethnographic interviews at the organization level and with key adult supporters across contexts of home, college and workplace, individual interviews, and quantitative surveys of mentoring, cultural capital, and procedural knowledge. Growth curve models trace cultural capital and mentoring over time, and qualitative data are used to identify key factors that influence the persistence of the participants at an individual and organization level. In-depth case studies increase understanding about the process of acquiring and sustaining mentoring and related capital, and how these three major contexts function in concert with one another in the lives of working class students. Intellectual Merit: At the four year post-secondary level, there is a substantial body of research examining students? decisions to switch away from science and technology fields while pursuing their four-year college degrees. Although this past research has provided a critical foundation for examining retention, this study contributes significant new knowledge about working class women and the variability within their transitions along the community college pathway to the four year STEM degrees. Given the complexity of working class women?s educational pathways, and the field?s lack of research focused on this population and community college STEM pathways, this study offers new knowledge about the factors that contribute to persistence of working class women of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Broader Impacts: Knowledge from this study influences the retention of working class women, with a large proportion of students of color by offering organizations (colleges and universities) strategies to assist these women in their pursuit of STEM education. In addition, the study includes several female undergraduate students, including many students of color and first generation college students, in a research experience. Existing partnerships between community colleges and four year colleges are fostered and strengthened. Dissemination includes the development of a website for use in public schools, reports for public audiences, white papers, and journal articles.

来自工薪阶层家庭的非裔美国女学生和拉丁裔女学生在科学和技术领域，尤其是计算机科学和工程领域的代表性明显不足。由于超过百分之五十的第一代、低收入拉丁裔和非裔美国女性使用两年制大学作为四年制学位的切入点，而实际上很少有人完成该途径，因此需要进行研究以更好地了解该途径以及该途径中不同种族工人阶级女性的经历。本研究采用混合方法短期纵向序贯设计。对两组学生进行为期 15 个月的跟踪调查：1) 75 名社区学院学生被转入四年制大学攻读 STEM 学位，2) 75 名应届高中毕业生首次进入社区大学。数据来源包括组织层面的人种学访谈以及家庭、大学和工作场所中关键成人支持者的访谈、个人访谈以及指导、文化资本和程序知识的定量调查。增长曲线模型追踪文化资本和指导随时间的变化，定性数据用于识别影响个人和组织层面参与者持久性的关键因素。深入的案例研究增加了对获得和维持指导和相关资本的过程的理解，以及这三个主要背景如何在工人阶级学生的生活中相互协调作用。智力优势：在四年制高等教育阶段，有大量研究机构对学生进行检查？决定放弃科学和技术领域，同时攻读四年制大学学位。尽管过去的研究为检验保留率提供了重要基础，但这项研究提供了有关工人阶级女性的重要新知识，以及她们在社区大学通往四年制 STEM 学位的过渡过程中的可变性。鉴于工人阶级女性教育途径的复杂性，以及该领域缺乏针对这一群体和社区大学 STEM 途径的研究，这项研究提供了有关有助于不同种族背景的工人阶级女性坚持下去的因素的新知识。更广泛的影响：这项研究通过为组织（学院和大学）提供策略来帮助这些女性追求 STEM 教育，从而影响工人阶级女性（其中很大一部分是有色人种学生）的保留。此外，该研究还包括几名女本科生，其中包括许多有色人种学生和第一代大学生，参与研究经历。社区学院和四年制大学之间现有的伙伴关系得到培育和加强。传播包括开发供公立学校使用的网站、面向公众的报告、白皮书和期刊文章。