The Price of STEM Success: Explaining the Impact of Need-Based Financial Aid on STEM Student Behavior

STEM 成功的代价：解释基于需求的经济援助对 STEM 学生行为的影响

• 批准号: 1741786
• 负责人: Sara Goldrick-Rab
• 金额: $ 69.45万
• 依托单位: Temple University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-05-23 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1741786&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Price; STEM; Success; Explaining; Impact

This four-year mixed methods research project is investigating whether, how, and why need-based financial aid affects the behavior and success of undergraduate students in STEM programs. The primary goal of the study is to estimate the causal effects of financial aid on choice of and success in a STEM program or major. The project tracks and compares 1,800 low-income students (900 students randomly selected to receive additional financial support with 900 students with similar economic backgrounds who do not receive additional support). The randomized control study tests three hypotheses associated with the assumption that financial aid assists in student degree completion. Hypothesis One: Additional financial aid will reduce the number of hours spent working and the number of students working more than 20 hours per week will decline. Hypothesis Two: An increase in financial aid will stimulate an improvement of the quality of study time and that this will lead recipients to attempt more credits in STEM and achieve higher grades. Hypothesis Three: Additional funding will permit recipients to increase their participation in STEM enrichment activities.

这个为期四年的混合方法研究项目正在调查基于需求的经济援助是否、如何以及为什么会影响STEM项目本科生的行为和成功。该研究的主要目标是估计经济援助对STEM项目或专业的选择和成功的因果影响。该项目跟踪并比较了1800名低收入家庭学生（随机选择900名学生获得额外资助，900名学生经济背景相似，但没有获得额外资助）。这项随机对照研究测试了与经济援助有助于学生完成学位的假设相关的三个假设。假设一：额外的经济援助将减少花在工作上的时间，每周工作超过20小时的学生数量将下降。假设二：经济援助的增加将刺激学习时间质量的提高，这将导致接受者在STEM中尝试更多学分并取得更高的成绩。假设三：额外的资助将允许接受者增加他们对STEM丰富活动的参与。