Finding the Roots: Interactive Influence of Individual, High School, and College Institutional Factors on the Success of Women and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Majors

在这个STEP Type 2项目中，两阶段多方法研究检查了导致女性比男性更不可能完成STEM专业的结构和个人因素。该研究结合了纵向定量成分和定性成分，侧重于研究对象的经验。该研究考察了结构/组织和个人因素，以及这些因素对女性从中学到大学在传统上代表性不足的STEM学科中取得成功的互动影响。纵向研究的数据将与调查和深度访谈的数据相结合。该研究团队对北卡罗来纳大学行政总署（UNC系统的16个校区）和北卡罗来纳公共教学部现有的纵向数据集具有独特的访问权限。这项研究得到了该州主要教育机构的支持，这些机构同意为两种系统的学生提供8-16年级的数据。该研究的定性方面提供了丰富的数据来源，可以更详细地研究女性从8-12年级到成为STEM专业的学生和从高等教育机构毕业的经历。该研究考察了性别、民族/种族和社会经济地位与其他个人和结构/组织因素之间的关系，例如STEM教师的资格、按校园和部门划分的教师性别构成，以及按校园和专业划分的学生群体的种族构成。关注女性（完成者、逃避者和离开者）在STEM领域的经历，有可能在这一研究领域做出重大贡献。基于国家教育机构的利益，这项研究有可能导致国家层面的利益相关者考虑其研究结果。

In this STEP Type 2 project, the two-phase multi-method study examines the structural and individual factors that contribute to women being less likely to complete STEM majors than men. The study combines both a longitudinal quantitative component and a qualitative component focused on the experiences of the research subjects. The study examines structural/organizational and individual factors and the interactive effects of these factors on women's success in STEM from middle school through colleges in STEM disciplines in which women are traditionally underrepresented. The data from the longitudinal aspect of the study will be combined with data from surveys and in-depth interviews. The research team has unique access to existing longitudinal data sets from the University of North Carolina General Administration (UNC system's 16 campuses) and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The study has the support of major educational institutions in the state that have agreed to provide grades 8-16 data for students in both systems. The qualitative aspect of the study provides a rich data source for examining in greater detail the experiences women have had as they make their way through grades 8-12 to becoming STEM majors in and graduates from post-secondary education institutions. The research examines the relationships among gender, ethnicity/race, and socio-economic status with other individual and structural/organizational factors, such as qualification of STEM teachers, gender composition of faculty by campus and by department, and the racial composition of student body by campus and by major. The focus on the experiences of women (completer, avoiders, and leavers) in STEM has the potential to make a major contribution in this area of research. Based on the interest of state educational institutions, the study has the potential to lead to the consideration of its findings by state-level stakeholders.