A Longitudinal Study of How Quality Mentorship and Research Experience Integrate Underrepresented Minorities into STEM Careers

TLDR

African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans are historically underrepresented in STEM, and social‑influence theory suggests they integrate into the academic community more slowly, with prior work showing that Kelman’s TIMSI predicts URM persistence in science fields. This study longitudinally investigates URM integration into STEM by tracking TIMSI variables—science efficacy, identity, and values—from junior year through the postbaccalaureate year. Growth‑curve analyses were employed to model the trajectories of these TIMSI variables over time. Results indicate that quality mentorship and research experience during junior and senior years boost science efficacy, identity, and values, but while efficacy predicts short‑term STEM engagement, identity and values better forecast persistence up to four years post‑graduation.

Abstract

African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans are historically underrepresented minorities (URMs) among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree earners. Viewed from a perspective of social influence, this pattern suggests that URMs do not integrate into the STEM academic community at the same rate as non-URM students. Estrada and colleagues recently showed that Kelman's tripartite integration model of social influence (TIMSI) predicted URM persistence into science fields. In this paper, we longitudinally examine the integration of URMs into the STEM community by using growth-curve analyses to measure the development of TIMIS's key variables (science efficacy, identity, and values) from junior year through the postbaccalaureate year. Results showed that quality mentorship and research experience occurring in the junior and senior years were positively related to student science efficacy, identity, and values at that same time period. Longitudinal modeling of TIMSI further shows that, while efficacy is important, and perhaps a necessary predictor of moving toward a STEM career, past experiences of efficacy may not be sufficient for maintaining longer-term persistence. In contrast, science identity and values do continue to be predictive of STEM career pathway persistence up to 4 years after graduation.