Feeding the Pipeline: Preparing and Planning for STEM Careers

康奈尔大学八年级、十年级和十二年级的教室和学校的特点是如何影响以后进入科学事业的？年轻男女如何设想进入科学事业的过程，他们的观点如何影响他们在初中和高中的行为？通过分析1988-2000年国家教育纵向研究（National Education Longitudinal Study）和2002-2006年教育纵向研究（Education Longitudinal Study）的调查数据，研究者将开展三个相关项目。首先，他们将比较1992年和2004年的高中毕业班，考虑到这两个群体在高中理科课程、随后的大学入学以及大学理科专业选择方面的差异。其次，使用1992年高中毕业班的数据，研究者将模拟性别差异在八年级和高中参与科学对后来进入科学职业的影响，截至2000年。第三，使用2004年高中毕业班的数据，研究人员将模拟年轻男性和女性的特异性和内容的变化。本研究利用迄今为止未经分析的关于高二、高三和高中毕业后两年的职业计划的逐字回答，编制了美国学生的职业计划。本项目将评估(a)随着学生对科学内部的分工、不同科学职业的教育要求以及不同科学职业的成本和收益有了更深入的了解，科学职业规划是如何结合和变化的；(b)职业规划中是否存在性别特异性轨迹，以及(c)这些轨迹如何受到家庭背景或高中课程的调节。科学和工程领域激烈的国际竞争、信息技术领域的新兴竞争以及对医疗保健不断扩大的需求，导致政策制定者和劳动力分析人士预计STEM领域的人才供应将出现巨大短缺。为了应对科学职位的人员配置和确保这些职位的多样性的双重挑战，培养和培养所有可用的科学人才至关重要。这些人才中最大的未开发来源是那些在初中和高中就有能力在科学领域取得成功的年轻女性，但由于各种原因放弃了科学领域和职业。通过使用迄今为止未分析的数据和创新的估计方法来了解年轻女性（和男性）如何决定是否从事科学事业，研究人员将为新的和有效的干预奠定基础，这些干预将缓解未来美国科学人才的短缺。这项研究的结果将有助于追求国家？建设一支规模更大、实力更强、为经济发展和科学进步服务的科技队伍的目标。

SES-1023798Stephen MorganKim WeedenCornell University How do characteristics of classrooms and schools in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades affect later entry into science careers? How do young men and women envision the process of entering science careers, and how do their views shape their behavior while in middle school and high school? Analyzing survey data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (1988-2000) and the Education Longitudinal Study (2002-2006), the investigators will conduct three related projects. First, they will compare the high school graduating classes of 1992 and 2004, considering the differences across these two cohorts in the science courses they take in high school, in subsequent college entry, and in the selection of a science major in college. Second, using data on the high school graduating class of 1992, the investigators will model gender differences in the effects of engagement with science in the eighth grade and in high school on later entry into science careers, as of 2000. Third, using data on the high school graduating class of 2004, the investigators will model changes in the specificity and content of young men and women?s occupational plans, using heretofore unanalyzed verbatim responses about plans in the sophomore year of high school, the senior year of high school, and two-years following high school graduation. This project will assess (a) how plans for science careers coalesce and change as students develop more sophisticated understandings of the division of labor within science, the educational requirements of different science careers, and the costs and benefits of different science careers; (b) whether there are gender-specific trajectories in occupational plans, and (c) how these trajectories are mediated by family context or the high school curriculum. Broader Impacts Fierce international competition in science and engineering, emerging competition in information technology, and expanding demand for health care have led policy makers and workforce analysts to anticipate enormous shortfalls in the supply of personnel in STEM fields. To meet the twin challenges of staffing science positions and of ensuring diversity in those positions, it is critical to cultivate and nurture all of the available talent in the sciences. The largest untapped source of such talent consists of young women who have the demonstrated ability in middle and high school to prosper in scientific domains, but for various reasons forego scientific fields and careers. By using heretofore unanalyzed data and innovative estimation methods to understand how young women (and men) make decisions about whether or not to pursue science careers, the investigators will lay the foundation for new and effective interventions that will alleviate future shortages in science talent in the United States. The results of this research will help to pursue the nation?s goal of building a larger and stronger pool of scientists in the service of economic development and scientific progress.