Connections Matter: The Impact of Social Ties and Social Capital for STEM College Students

在科学、技术、教育和数学（STEM）的高等教育环境中，社会关系和社会资本包含了学生在大学及以后需要理解的关键资源。需要更深入地探索社会资本及其对不同人群的影响，以及它如何阻碍STEM教育和劳动力发展的公平性。该研究考察了社会关系和社会资本对STEM专业大学生留任和就业安置等关键结果的影响。项目活动旨在解决STEM学生如何从拥有社会关系转变为获得社会资本，以及如何利用在这些社会关系中交换的关键信息和资源的问题。值得注意的是，该项目扩大了对社会关系影响的理论和实践理解，不仅对学术成果有影响，而且对学生如何向劳动力过渡也有影响。该项目由教育和人力资源核心研究计划支持，该计划资助STEM学习和学习环境的基础研究，扩大STEM参与和STEM劳动力发展。该项目正在确定促进或阻碍社会关系向社会资本转化的条件，加深对支持STEM公平和成就的机制以及影响社会资本形成和部署的过程的理解。该项目正在分析来自全国新生纵向研究的数据，包括学生同伴群体、与教师的经历以及信息网络。项目团队还对STEM专业的大四学生和在STEM领域工作的个人在他们的社会和专业网络上进行访谈，以跟踪社会关系的形成和社会资本的部署。该项目正在推进NSF扩大STEM参与的目标。通过识别与种族/民族、性别和阶级相关的不平等，该项目正在协助教育工作者设计干预措施，以支持不同背景的学生取得成功。

In the higher education settings for Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM), social ties and social capital contain critical resources that students need to understand through college and beyond. Deeper exploration of social capital and its impact on differing populations and how it may hinder equity in STEM education and workforce advancement is needed. The research examines the effect of social ties and social capital on key outcomes such as retention and job placement for STEM college students. Project activities are addressing the question of how STEM students move from having social ties, to gaining social capital, and how to utilize critical information and resources exchanged within those social ties. Notably, the project is extending theoretical and practical understanding of the impact of social ties not just on academic outcomes, but also on how students transition to the workforce. This project is supported by the Education and Human Resources Core Research Program, which funds fundamental research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.The project is identifying conditions that facilitate or block the transformation of social ties into social capital, deepening understanding of the mechanisms that support equity and achievement in STEM and the processes that shape social capital formation and deployment. The project is analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen on student peer groups, experiences with faculty, and information networks. The project team is also conducting interviews with STEM college seniors and individuals working in STEM fields on their social and professional networks to track the formation of social ties and deployment of social capital. The project is advancing NSF's goal of broadening participation in STEM. By identifying inequities related to race/ethnicity, gender, and class, the project is assisting educators in designing interventions to support success for students of diverse backgrounds.