Collaborative Research: How Science Fieldwork Experiences Impact Undergraduate Students' STEM Academic and Career Decisions

女性在地球、大气和海洋科学工作者中的比例明显低于这些学科专业的女性本科生。这种代表性不足限制了女本科生和研究生以及在工业领域工作的女科学家的可用榜样。了解可能影响男性或女性本科生追求STEM劳动力的因素是至关重要的。发展一支多样化和技术能力强的STEM劳动力队伍，对于科学进步以及我们国家的健康、繁荣和福利至关重要。这个项目团队正在调查社会认知职业理论的背景成分，以探索男性和女性地质学本科生在追求学术和职业道路时如何成功地驾驭科学野外工作经验。更具体地说，将提高关于社会、文化、教育和身份认同变量在实地考察期间和之后如何相互作用以影响从本科教育向研究生教育或行业就业过渡的知识。混合方法研究将包括调查和访谈数据的收集和分析。研究结果将促进对从事实地工作的STEM本科生如何以及为什么从事STEM职业的了解，并为未来应用于STEM学科的社会认知职业理论的教育研究提供信息。这项研究得到了NSF的EHR核心研究(ECR)计划的支持。ECR计划强调基础STEM教育研究，以产生该领域的基础知识。在基本、广泛和持久的关键领域进行投资：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM的参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该计划支持积累强有力的证据，为理解、构建解释理论并提出干预和创新建议的努力提供信息，以应对STEM兴趣、教育、学习和参与方面的持续挑战。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The representation of women in the earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences workforce is significantly lower than that of female undergraduate students majoring in these disciplines. This underrepresentation limits the available role models for female undergraduate and graduate students, and female scientists working in industry. It is critical to understand the factors that may influence why male or female undergraduate students pursue the STEM workforce or not. Advancing a diverse and technically competent STEM workforce is critical to the progress of science and the health, prosperity and welfare of our nation. This project team is investigating the contextual components of social cognitive career theory to explore how male and female undergraduate geology students successfully navigate scientific fieldwork experiences as they pursue academic and career paths. More specifically, knowledge will be advanced about how social, cultural, educational, and identity variables interact with each other during and after fieldwork to affect transitions from undergraduate education to graduate education or industry employment. Mixed methods research will include the collection and analysis of survey and interview data. Results will be examined to advance knowledge about how and why STEM undergraduates who do field work pursue STEM careers, and to inform future educational research on social cognitive career theory as it applies to STEM disciplines. This research is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent challenges in STEM interest, education, learning, and participation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.