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

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，人们认为存在文化障碍，使得文化身份的整合与新兴的科学家身份不相容。特别是STEM职业似乎与能够服务社区或回馈自己成长的地方脱节。本研究将研究这种“公共文化取向”以及对科学的一些普遍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。研究人员提出了一种混合方法研究，包括访谈、焦点小组、纵向调查研究和随机实验课堂活动，以研究未被充分代表的少数民族学生的文化和职业目标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是有效的，可能有可能更广泛地纳入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，这是一个西班牙裔服务机构（校园内的西班牙裔人口约占33%）。在表示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群体。其理论框架包括目标一致性理论（人-环境契合）和利益理论。主要的假设是，如果代表性不足的少数民族学生没有看到科学职业可以让他们实现与文化相关的共同目标，他们就很难保持对科学的兴趣，并发展出对科学的强烈认同。研究人员的模型强调了目标一致性（或“契合”）在预测科学职业兴趣和动机方面的关键作用，并在科学课堂兴趣和参与以及科学认同中起中介作用。研究人员将进行三个阶段的工作：访谈和焦点小组；纵向调查研究；以及一项大型随机课堂实验研究。面试将在第一年开始，包括100名宣布主修STEM专业的本科新生和50名在第二年招募的额外学生。数据分析将使用人口统计数据的定性内容分析和描述性分析来完成。纵向调查阶段将包括招募一年级和二年级学生的样本（各约250人），进行为期三年的研究。数据收集将包括六类变量，从背景变量开始，继续到共同目标认可、科学和共同目标支持感知、科学课兴趣和参与、科学认同和科学职业兴趣和动机。数据分析将遵循多元重复测量的线性增长曲线建模。最后，这项随机实验研究将在三个学期的六个班级中进行，共有大约6000名学生被分为实验组和对照组。干预是一项写作作业，每学期大约四周进行一次，实验组和对照组的重点不同。数据分析包括多水平线性回归。

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.