Ethnic differences in geoscience attitudes of college students

Abstract

While a gender balance remains elusive in the geosciences [ de Wet et al. , 2002], the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in these fields is at least as great a concern. A number of cultural and social factors have been proposed to explain the poor ethnic minority representation in the geosciences, including limited exposure to nature, deficient academic preparation, inadequate financial resources to pursue higher education, ignorance of career opportunities in the geosciences, insufficient family support, and misconceptions of the field.