Identifying strategies for increasing degree attainment in STEM: Lessons from minority-serving institutions

✍ Scribed by Laura W. Perna; Marybeth Gasman; Shannon Gary; Valerie Lundy-Wagner; Noah D. Drezner

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Weight: 62 KB
• Volume: 2010
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-0579
• DOI: 10.1002/ir.360

✦ Synopsis

Presented in this chapter is a case study of African American female STEM majors attending a historically Black women' s college. We offer numerous implications for future research based on institutional characteristics that help explain women' s achievement and high rates of STEM degree attainment. STUDENTS OF COLOR IN STEM NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH • DOI: 10.1002/ir

are not only a relatively untapped resource for addressing this national economic need, but they are also less likely to realize the individual economic benefi ts that result from participating in this high-growth sector of the economy. Although progress has been made, these groups continue to represent a smaller share of degree recipients in science and engineering fi elds than of all other degree recipients National Science Foundation, 2008b). Table .1 shows that in 2005, women received 58 percent of the bachelor' s degrees awarded in all fi elds, but only 22 percent of computer sciences degrees, 43 percent in physical sciences, and 20 percent in engineering (National Science Foundation, 2008b). Blacks received 9 percent of all bachelor' s degrees awarded, but only 6.1 percent of the degrees in mathematics and statistics, 6.7 percent in physical sciences, and 5.2 percent in engineering (National Science Foundation, 2008b). Hispanics earned 7.9 percent of all bachelor' s degrees, but only 6.8 percent of the degrees in computer sciences, 5.8 percent in mathematics, and 6.5 percent in physical sciences (National Science Foundation, 2008b). In contrast, although the Asian/Pacifi c Islander category masks variations in attainment across groups within this category (for example, Chinese, Hmong, Laotians), Asian/Pacifi c Islanders are relatively overrepresented among STEM degree recipients. In 2005, Asian/Pacifi c Islanders received 6.5 percent of all bachelor' s degrees awarded, but 13.4 percent of the degrees in biological sciences, 13 percent in computer sciences, 10 percent in mathematics and statistics, and 13 percent in engineering (National Science Foundation, 2008b).

For reasons of global competitiveness and social justice, defi ned as "exploring the social construction of unequal hierarchies, which result in a social group' s differential access to power and privilege . . . and the deconstruction of unjust and oppressive structures" (Lewis, 2001, p. 189), higher education institutions must do more to improve the educational attainment of groups that are underrepresented in STEM fi elds. One approach to achieving this goal is to explore the characteristics of colleges and universities that appear to be especially successful at promoting degree attainment in STEM for these groups. This chapter summarizes how we used this approach in a recent study (see and offers related recommendations for future research. But fi rst we highlight some literature about the institutional context in which we conducted our study.

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH •