Understanding the role of cultural and career purpose orientations in underrepresented minority science student success

了解文化和职业目标导向在代表性不足的少数族裔理科学生成功中的作用

• 批准号: 1420271
• 负责人: Dustin Thoman
• 金额: $ 111.8万
• 依托单位: California State University-Long Beach Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2016-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1420271&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Understanding; role; cultural; career; purpose

One explanation for the underrepresentation of some ethnic minority groups in STEM education and STEM careers is that cultural barriers are perceived to exist that render integration of a cultural identity incompatible with an emerging identity as a scientist. In particular STEM careers appear to be disconnected from being able to serve one's community or give back to the place where one grew up. This research will examine how this "communal cultural orientation" along with some perceptions of science in general might influence how engaged students are in STEM courses and how interested they are in STEM careers. The researchers propose a mixed methods study including interviews, focus groups, a longitudinal survey study and randomized experimental classroom activities to examine how underrepresented minority students' cultural and career purpose orientations influence their perceptions of science careers and whether that perception could be altered through targeted activities. Such activities, if proven effective, might have the potential to be more broadly included in STEM curricula and pedagogy to encourage greater participation of underrepresented groups in STEM. Student participants will be recruited from the California State University, Long Beach campus which is a Hispanic Serving Institution (the Hispanic population on the campus is approximately 33%). About 46% of incoming freshmen indicating an interest in the physical or life sciences are identified as underrepresented minorities.The theoretical framework includes goal congruity theory (person-environment fit) and interest theory. The main hypothesis is that underrepresented minority students struggle to maintain an interest in and develop a strong identity with science if they do not see a career in science that would allow them to fulfill culturally connected communal purpose goals. The researchers' model emphasizes the critical role of goal congruence (or "fit") in predicting interest in and motivation for science careers, with mediating roles for science class interest and engagement and science identity.The researchers will engage three phases of work: interviews and focus groups; longitudinal survey study; and a large randomized experimental classroom study. Interviews will commence in year one and include 100 undergraduate freshman students with declared STEM majors and 50 additional students recruited in year two. Data analysis will be done using qualitative content analysis and descriptive analysis of demographic data. The longitudinal survey phase will involve recruiting a sample of freshmen and sophomore students (approximately 250 of each) followed for the three years of the study. Six categories of variables will be included in the data gathering beginning with background variables and moving on to communal goal endorsement, science and communal goal affordance perceptions, science class interest and engagement, science identity, and science career interest and motivation. Data analysis will follow linear growth curve modeling with multivariate repeated measures. Finally, the randomized experimental study will be administered across six classes over three academic semesters to a total of about 6,000 students in experimental and control groups. The intervention is a writing assignment administered for credit approximately every four weeks in the semester with different foci for experimental and control groups. Data analysis will include multilevel linear regression.

一些少数民族群体在STEM教育和STEM职业中代表性不足的一个解释是，文化障碍被认为存在，使得文化身份的整合与科学家的新兴身份不相容。特别是STEM职业似乎与能够为社区服务或回馈成长的地方脱节。这项研究将探讨这种“社区文化取向”沿着对科学的一些看法如何影响学生对STEM课程的参与程度以及他们对STEM职业的兴趣。研究人员提出了一项混合方法研究，包括访谈，焦点小组，纵向调查研究和随机实验课堂活动，以研究代表性不足的少数民族学生的文化和职业目的取向如何影响他们对科学职业的看法，以及这种看法是否可以通过有针对性的活动改变。这些活动如果被证明有效，可能有可能被更广泛地纳入STEM课程和教学法，以鼓励代表性不足的群体更多地参与STEM。学生参与者将从加州州立大学长滩校区招募，该校区是一个西班牙裔服务机构（校园内西班牙裔人口约占33%）。 在对物理或生命科学感兴趣的新生中，约有46%被认为是代表性不足的少数民族。主要的假设是，代表性不足的少数民族学生努力保持兴趣，并与科学发展强烈的身份，如果他们没有看到一个职业生涯在科学，这将使他们能够实现文化连接的共同目的的目标。研究人员的模型强调目标一致性（或“匹配”）在预测科学职业兴趣和动机方面的关键作用，科学类兴趣和参与以及科学身份的中介作用。研究人员将从事三个阶段的工作：访谈和焦点小组;纵向调查研究;以及大型随机实验课堂研究。面试将在第一年开始，包括100名宣布STEM专业的本科新生和第二年招募的50名额外学生。将使用人口统计学数据的定性内容分析和描述性分析进行数据分析。纵向调查阶段将包括招募一个大一和大二学生的样本（每个大约250人），在三年的研究中进行跟踪。六类变量将包括在数据收集开始与背景变量，并移动到共同的目标认可，科学和共同的目标启示的看法，科学类的兴趣和参与，科学身份，科学职业兴趣和动机。数据分析将遵循线性生长曲线建模和多变量重复测量。最后，这项随机实验研究将在三个学期内对六个班级进行，实验组和对照组共约6,000名学生。干预是一个写作作业管理学分约每四周在学期与不同的焦点实验组和控制组。数据分析将包括多水平线性回归。