Pathways to Success: Affirming Opportunities for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Majors.

Abstract

Using cross-tabulations, factor analyses, and logistic regressions, this study examined the flow out of and into science, mathematics, and engineering (SME) majors of a cohort of African American, American Indian, and Chicano/Latino undergraduates (N = 330) and factors associated with persistence in those majors. The targeted minorities experienced greater attrition from SME majors than did White and Asian Americans. Females from targeted groups showed the largest outflow, followed by their male counterparts. Person-organization ' and peer values related to campus activism and engagement were negatively associated with SME persistence. The absence of person-organization fit influence for targeted minorities suggests a need for further study on the relevance of established SME values, educational inequity, self-selectivity, and other influences that limit minority SME representation. Expanding the pool of scientists and engineers has been a persistent problem for educators and employers alike. Between 1998 and 2008, jobs in science, mathematics, and engineering (SME) fields are expected to increase four times the rate of all other employment opportunities in the United States. This translates into a demand for 1.9 million more trained professionals in these areas (National Science Board, 2000). Presently, White and Asian Americans constitute 82.3% and 10.4% of the SME workforce, respectively, while African Americans, American Indians, and Chicanos/Latinos remain underrepresented in these growing careers relative to their representation in the U.S. population-at 3.4%, 0.3%, and 3.1%, respectively (National Science Foundation, 2000). Aside from the individual benefits of low unemployment and competitive wages found in SME employment, as a nation we reap rewards by having a workforce that is more representative of all our citizens. Building a more diverse SME workforce has been purported to increase our nation's productivity by boosting the science literacy and multicultural competence of teachers who educate our children (Berryman, 1983); expanding current research on culture-specific illnesses and treatment regimes (Gavaghan, 1995); and capitalizing on the interests of African American, American Indian and Chicano/ Latino professionals to serve in poor urban and rural communities (Cantor, Miles, Baker, & Barket, 1996). With people of color representing the majority of students now entering the academic pipeline, the United States is challenged to develop the human capital of African Americans, American Indians, Chicanos and Latinos to meet the continued demand for SME professionals (Thomas, 1992). BARRIERS TO UNDERGRADUATE PERSISTENCE IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGINEERING For students who major in SME fields, the college degree marks a level of training that is a prerequisite for entrance in medical, research, and other SME professions. However, the literature on science education suggests a domino effect in terms of the challenges faced by students to persist as undergraduate SME majors. Such persistence is directly tied to experiences in K-12 classrooms, with student intentions to major in SME fields peaking by high school and marking a continuous exodus thereafter (Berryman, 1983). For almost all students, inadequate academic preparation is a major factor that limits their achievement in the sciences (Astin, 1993; Berryman, 1983; Oakes, 1990). Courses taken prior to college, such as mathematics, function as mechanisms to identify who will or will not access further training in science, mathematics, engineering and related fields (Sells, 1980). These sorting classes present major barriers for African American, American Indian and Chicano/Latino students, who drop out of these subjects as early as elementary school because of tracking and other institutional structures that limit opportunities for rigorous academic preparation (Oakes, 1990). Despite representing the growing majority of college undergraduates, women are at risk to defer their career goals into non-science fields. …