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

妇女在地球、大气和海洋科学工作队伍中的代表性大大低于主修这些学科的女本科生。 这种代表性不足的情况限制了女本科生和女研究生以及在工业界工作的女科学家的榜样作用。 关键是要了解可能影响男性或女性本科生追求STEM劳动力的因素。 推进多元化和技术上有能力的STEM劳动力对科学的进步和我们国家的健康，繁荣和福利至关重要。该项目组正在调查社会认知职业理论的背景成分，以探索男性和女性本科地质学学生如何成功地驾驭科学实地考察经验，因为他们追求学术和职业道路。 更具体地说，知识将先进的社会，文化，教育和身份变量如何相互作用期间和之后的实地考察，影响从本科教育到研究生教育或行业就业的过渡。 混合方法研究将包括调查和访谈数据的收集和分析。 结果将被检查，以推进有关如何以及为什么做实地工作的STEM本科生追求STEM职业的知识，并告知社会认知职业理论的未来教育研究，因为它适用于STEM学科。 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，产生该领域的基础知识。投资是在关键领域是必不可少的，广泛的和持久的：干学习和干学习环境，扩大参与干，干劳动力发展。该计划支持积累强有力的证据，为理解、建立理论解释、提出干预和创新建议，以解决STEM兴趣、教育、学习和参与方面的持续挑战提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.