As an underrepresented minority student, my community’s support can feel like pressure

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Santos-Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Minority Student ◽  
Underrepresented Minority

scholarly journals Peer-Led Team Learning Improves Minority Student Retention in STEM Majors

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D. Sloane ◽  
Julia J. Snyder ◽  
Jason R. Wiles
Keyword(s):  
Team Learning ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
College Level ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Chi Square

AbstractThe President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a report in 2012 calling for a drastic increase in the number of STEM graduates produced in our country over the following decade if we are to remain economically competitive globally (PCAST, 2012). The report cited the disparity between the diversity among the general public versus that of the STEM professional community and recommended measures to ensure that the women and members of underrepresented racial groups, who together comprise 70% of college graduates but only 45% of college STEM graduates, would become better represented in those fields. This call for action echoed calls by the National Academy of Sciences to expand underrepresented minority participation in STEM at the college level (NAS, 2011). In the following study, we examined whether participation in the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) model in introductory biology influenced the rates of recruitment into STEM and retention in STEM for underrepresented minority (URM) students and for non-URM students. Chi-square analyses reveal that there are significant gaps in STEM recruitment and retention rates between URM and non-URM students, but when these students participate in the PLTL model, no differences in STEM recruitment or retention rates were observed. Additionally, we found that STEM retention rates were significantly improved for URM students who engaged in PLTL.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing Student Gains from Undergraduate Research Experiences at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. ar30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Daniels ◽  
Sara E. Grineski ◽  
Timothy W. Collins ◽  
Danielle X. Morales ◽  
Osvaldo Morera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Income ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
El Paso ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Hispanic Serving Institution ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Hispanic Serving

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) confer many benefits to students, including improved self-confidence, better communication skills, and an increased likelihood of pursuing science careers. Additionally, UREs may be particularly important for racial/ethnic minority students who are underrepresented in the science workforce. We examined factors hypothetically relevant to underrepresented minority student gains from UREs at a Hispanic-serving institution, such as mentoring quality, family income, being Latino/a, and caring for dependents. Data came from a 2013 survey of University of Texas at El Paso students engaged in 10 URE programs (n = 227). Using generalized linear models (GzLMs) and adjusting for known covariates, we found that students who reported receiving higher-quality mentorship, spending more hours caring for dependents, and receiving more programmatic resources experienced significantly greater gains from their URE in all three areas we examined (i.e., thinking and working like a scientist, personal gains, and gains in skills). In two of three areas, duration of the URE was positive and significant. Being Latino/a was positive and significant only in the model predicting personal gains. Across the three models, quality of mentorship was the most important correlate of gains. This suggests that providing training to faculty mentors involved in UREs may improve student outcomes and increase program efficacy.

scholarly journals Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. es5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mica Estrada ◽  
Myra Burnett ◽  
Andrew G. Campbell ◽  
Patricia B. Campbell ◽  
Wilfred F. Denetclaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Persistence ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Howard Hughes Medical Institute ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Medical Institute ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Persistence In Stem

Members of the Joint Working Group on Improving Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)—convened by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute—review current data and propose deliberation about why the academic “pathways” leak more for URM than white or Asian STEM students. They suggest expanding to include a stronger focus on the institutional barriers that need to be removed and the types of interventions that “lift” students’ interests, commitment, and ability to persist in STEM fields. Using Kurt Lewin’s planned approach to change, the committee describes five recommendations to increase URM persistence in STEM at the undergraduate level. These recommendations capitalize on known successes, recognize the need for accountability, and are framed to facilitate greater progress in the future. The impact of these recommendations rests upon enacting the first recommendation: to track successes and failures at the institutional level and collect data that help explain the existing trends.

Impact of an intensive multi-disciplinary STEM enrichment program on underrepresented minority student success

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Ghazzawi ◽  
Donna Lynn Pattison ◽  
Catherine Horn ◽  
John Hardy ◽  
Beverly Brown
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enrichment Program ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study examines the impact of participation in a STEM Enrichment Summer Bridge Program, funded by the NSF Houston-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, on undergraduate student success outcomes, particularly for under-represented students.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses propensity score matching and logistic regression analysis to examine the effects of participation in the STEM enrichment program on graduation and retention in STEM after matching on baseline socio-demographic and pre-college characteristics.FindingsThe analysis found that program participation had a significant effect on increasing both the graduation rates and retention of under-represented minority students in STEM fields. In addition, results indicated that program participation had a particularly strong impact for Pell-eligible students in terms of course grades.Research limitations/implicationsData obtained for this study were limited to a single Hispanic-serving/Asian-serving institution, and therefore are not necessarily representative of the graduation and retention trends of the larger population of underrepresented minority (URM) students across the nation.Originality/valueThis study uniquely adds to the existing body of literature surrounding the retention of URM students in STEM fields by accounting for baseline variables, such as pre-college academic achievement and socio-demographic characteristics, that could lead to bias in estimating results. Specifically, this study addresses limitations of previous studies by comparing participants and non-participants of the STEM enrichment program who are matched on a selection of baseline characteristics.

Measuring Math Anxiety Among Predominantly Underrepresented Minority Undergraduates Using the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale

2022 ◽  
pp. 073428292110632
Author(s):  
Kit W. Cho
Keyword(s):  
Math Anxiety ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Gender Invariance ◽  
The One ◽  
Almost All

Many students experience math anxiety, which can negatively affect their academic achievement and even their career choices. One of the most commonly used methods to assess math anxiety is the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS). Despite the ubiquity of this measure, there is a lack of studies assessing its validity. Moreover, almost all studies have administered the AMAS to a predominantly (>75%) White sample. The present study assessed the validity of the AMAS in a largely underrepresented minority-student (Hispanics and Blacks) sample. The construct validity of the scale was established by showing that students’ AMAS was predictive of both their actual (objective) and predicted (subjective) performance on an arithmetic task. The factor structure of the measure was validated by confirming that the two-factor model was a better fit than the one-factor model. Gender invariance was supported using multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. Overall, the results of the present study provide further evidence on the validity of the AMAS and its use among underrepresented minority college students.

scholarly journals Mission matters: Association between a medical school’s mission and minority student representation

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247154
Author(s):  
Kendall M. Campbell ◽  
Dmitry Tumin
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
School Mission ◽  
Social Mission

Increasing enrollment of students who are underrepresented in medicine has been a priority of United States (US) medical schools. The authors sought to compare how increasing minority student representation factors into mission statements, statements of values, and strategic action plans at top research-oriented US medical schools and US medical schools with a social mission. A Web search was performed to locate three documents for each medical school: the mission statement; a statement of values; and a strategic plan. Data were retrieved on the number of underrepresented minority graduates and total graduates from each school in the graduating classes of 2015–2019. The number and percentage of graduates during this period were compared according to schools’ mission statements using rank-sum tests. Other quantitative study data were compared by school mission using Fisher’s exact tests. Five of the schools with a social mission (25%) and none of the schools with a research mission had a mission statement that addressed increasing representation of underrepresented minority students in the medical school (p = 0.047). Schools with a mission statement that addressed this group had a higher proportion of those graduates during 2015–2019 (median 66%; IQR 28%, 68%) compared to schools that did not address this in their mission statement (median 10%; IQR 6%, 13%; p = 0.003). More research is needed to explore the association between US medical school mission statements and the representation of underrepresented students in medical education, especially at research-oriented medical schools.

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