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BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins Sylvia Hurtado UCLA
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BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Dec 31, 2015

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Page 1: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY

STRUCTURE

Association for Institutional ResearchDenver, Colorado

May 28, 2015

Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee WilkinsSylvia Hurtado

UCLA

Page 2: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Introduction

Too few Black students graduate with STEM degrees

Black students face multiple challenges in STEM majors

A number of experiences and activities mitigate the effect of these barriers – the “opportunity structure” in STEM programs

Page 3: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Purpose of Study

Purpose: Investigate the factors that are predictive of Black students’ participation within two components of the opportunity structure: Supplemental instruction Faculty mentorship and support

Page 4: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Supplemental Instruction

Targets “at-risk courses” as opposed to “at-risk students”

Peer-facilitated sessions focused on problem solving and enhancing course material

Voluntary; not remedial Supplemental instruction has been shown

to improve academic performance and term-to-term retention rates in single-institution studies

Page 5: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Faculty Mentoring

Intentional support, as opposed to happenstance faculty-student interactions

Consists of professional and personal support

Faculty mentoring also improves academic performance and retention

Page 6: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Methods

Data source and sample: 2004 CIRP Freshman Survey (TFS) 2008 CIRP College Senior Survey (CSS) Institutional data from IPEDS

Sample: 792 Black STEM aspirants and a random sample of 792 White students across 175 institutions

Analysis Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) 4 models

Page 7: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Methods (Cont.)

Student-Level Variables• Demographic Characteristics (6)• High School Preparation, Achievement, and Experiences

(8)• Campus Climate (4)• College Experiences (12)• STEM Area of Focus (6)

Institutional-Level Variables• Institutional Characteristics (e.g. size, selectivity, type) (11)

Page 8: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Findings Black Students: Supplemental Instruction

Student-Level Years of Biology in High School (-) HPW Talking to Teachers Outside Class (+) Joined a Club or Organization Related to Major

(+) Receipt of Faculty Mentorship (+)

Institutional-Level Undergraduate Full-Time Enrollment (-) Proportion of STEM Undergraduate Majors (-) Research/Doctoral Granting Institution (+)

Page 9: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Findings White Students: Supplemental Instruction

Student-Level High Income (-) Years of Biology (-) Positive Cross-Racial Interactions (+) Studied with Other Students (+) Faculty Interested in Students' Academic

Problems (+) Receipt of Faculty Mentorship (+)

Institutional-Level Undergraduate Full-Time Enrollment (+)

Page 10: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Comparing Significant Coefficients from the Black STEM Model 7 to the Coefficients from the White STEM Model 7 for Supplemental Instruction

Black STEM students n=792

White STEM students n=792

Variables   b   S.E.   b   S.E. Z-Score MeaningInstitutional Variables

Undergraduate full-time enrollment (10,000)

-0.11

*

0.00

0.14

*

0.00

***

Affect is more

pronounced for White students

Research/Doctoral granting institution (vs. master comprehensive)

0.26***

0.07

0.05

0.07

Only affects Black

students

Proportion of STEM undergraduate majors

-0.46*

0.19

0.13

0.16

Only affects Black

studentsPre-college preparation, achievement and experiences (Responses taken from TFS)

Years of biological science in H.S. -0.05 * 0.02 -0.05 * 0.02 n.s. Similar effect

Hours per week: Talking with high school teachers outside class

0.06**

0.02 -0.01 0.03 Only affects Black students

College Behaviors (Responses taken from the CSS)

Joined a club or organization related to major

0.11*

0.05 -0.01 0.05 Only affects Black students

STEM Environment

  Receipt of faculty mentorship 0.01 *** 0.00   0.01 ** 0.00 n.s. Similar effect

Page 11: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Findings Black Students: Receipt of Faculty Mentorship

Student-Level Felt Intimidated by your Professors(-) High Middle Income (100K-199K) (+) Positive cross-racial Interactions(+) Sense of Belonging (+) Participated in a Program to Prepare for Graduate School (+) Overall College GPA (+) Met With an Advisor/Counselor About Your Career Plans (+) Participated in an Internship Program (+) Had Instruction that Supplemented Coursework (+) Faculty Here are Interested in Students’ Academic Problems (+)Institutional-Level HBCU (+) Proportion of Undergraduate White Students (+)

Page 12: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Findings White Students: Receipt of Faculty Mentorship

Student-Level High School GPA (-) SAT composite score (-) HPW Talking to High School Teachers (+) Sense of Belonging (+) Participated in a program to prepare for graduate (+) Overall college GPA (+) Met with an advisor/counselor about your career (+) Studied with other students (+) Joined a club or organization related to major (+) Had instruction that supplemented course work (+) Faculty here are interested in students' academic (+) Academic self-concept (+) Engineering aspirants are less likely than biology aspirants (-)

Page 13: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Comparing Significant Coefficients from the Black STEM Model 6 to the Coefficients from the White STEM Model 6 for Faculty Mentoring and Support

Black STEM students n=792

White STEM students n=792

Variables   b S.E.   b S.E. Z-Score MeaningDemographic Characteristics

High middle income ($100K-$199,999) 2.22*

0.95 -0.90 0.69Only affects Black

students

Campus Climate (responses take from the CSS)

Felt intimidated by your professors

-1.33*

*

0.49

-0.19

0.49 Only affects

Black studentsPositive cross-racial interactions 0.10*

0.04

0.05

0.03

Only affects Black students

Sense of belonging 0.16

***

0.04

0.14 **

0.04 n.s. Similar effect

College Experiences (responses taken from the CSS)Behaviors

Participated in a program to prepare for graduate school

2.89***

0.87 2.07**

0.76n.s. Similar effect

Overall college GPA 0.60 ** 0.23 0.73 ** 0.22 n.s. Similar effectMet with an advisor/counselor about your career plans

2.70***

0.51 2.97***

0.51n.s. Similar effect

Participated in an internship program1.87

**0.66 -0.36 0.59

Only affects Black students

Had instruction that supplemented course work

2.52***

0.53 1.41**

0.44n.s. Similar effect

Perceptions/Attitudes

 Faculty here are interested in students' academic problems

3.98***

0.48   4.56***

0.46n.s. Similar effect

Page 14: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Discussion and Conclusion

Institutional context matters! May be reflective of the opportunities

available to students which vary by institution.

Or some institutions may be more intentional in targeting services

Institutions can learn from each other Campus Climate matters! - for both

White and Black students

Page 15: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Implications

Students should not be expected to volunteer for activities Institutional Agents foster engagement Dialogue with students about needs Tailor services for the unique needs of Black

students

Need for qualitative research to get at nuances of Black student experiences at various types of institutions

Page 16: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

16

Contact Info

Faculty/Co-PIs:Sylvia HurtadoKevin Eagan Ashlee Wilkins

Tanya FigueroaBryce Hughes

Administrative Staff:

Dominique Harrison

Graduate Research

Assistants:

Website: www.heri.ucla.eduE-mail: [email protected]

Post-Bacc Research Analyst:

Robert Paul

This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Numbers 1 R01 GMO71968-01 and R01 GMO71968-05, the National Science Foundation, NSF Grant Number 0757076, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant 1RC1GM090776-01. This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by the sponsors.

Page 17: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

References Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bandura, A. (1986) Social foundations of acion: A social-cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Barlow, A. , & Villarejo, M. (2004). Making a difference for minorities: Evaluation of an educational enrichment program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(9), 861-881

Bauer, K. W. (1998). Editor’s notes. In New Directions for Institutional Research (No. 98, pp. 1–5). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bohlscheid J., & Clark, S. (2012). Career preparedness survey outcomes of food science graduates – A follow-up assessment. Journal of Food Science Education, 11, 8-15.

Hu, S., Scheuch, K., Schwartz, R., Gayles, J., & Li, S. (2008). Reinventing undergraduate education: Engaging college students in research and creative activities. ashe higher education report, volume 33, number 4. ASHE Higher Education Report, 33(4), 1-103.

Perna L.W., Gasman M., Gary, S. Lundy-Wagner V., & Drezner, N. D. (2010). Identifying strategies for increasing degree attainment in STEM: Lessons from minority-serving institutions. New Directions For Institutional Research, (148), 41-51.

Seymour, R., Hunter, A. B., Laursen, S., & DeAntoni, T. “Establishing the Benefits of Research Experiences for Undergraduates: First Findings from a Three-year Study.” Science Education, 2004, 88(4), 493–594.

Solórzano, D. G., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 69(1/2), 60–73.

Strayhorn, T. L., & Terrell, M. C. (2007). Mentoring and satisfaction with college for Black students.” Negro Educational Review, 58(1-2), 69–83.

Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286

Page 18: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Literature

In general the opportunity structure: Increases students’ confidence and skills (Bauer

& Bennett, 2003; Seymour et al., 2004; Strayhorn & Terrell, 2007)

Facilitates the development of curiosity and inner motivation via collective learning (Olstedt,

2005)

Socializes students into STEM (Lopatto, 2004)

Improves retention and persistence in STEM (Hu, Scheuch, Schwartz, Gayles & Li, 2008)

Propels students into careers in STEM (Bohlscheid & Clark,

2012)

Page 19: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Limitations

Only includes the responses of Black students who persisted to the fourth year of college

CSS had a relatively low longitudinal response rate (23%)

Cannot assume a causal relationship between the dependent variables and those independent variables

Page 20: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Descriptive Statistics: Black Students

Variable

Sex 68% Female

Had never utilized Supplemental Instruction by 4th yr in college

11.6%

Faculty Mentorship (mean score) 49.11

Institutional Selectivity 1133 (avg. SAT score of incoming class)

Proportion of White students in the student body

0% at HBCUs to 93% at PWIs (range)54.75% (Average)

Page 21: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Descriptive Statistics: White Students

Variable

Sex 48% Female

Had never utilized Supplemental Instruction by 4th yr in college

14.8%

Faculty Mentorship (mean score) 48.92

Institutional Selectivity 1162 (avg. SAT score of incoming class)

Proportion of White students in the student body

18% to 93% (range)64.47% (average)

Page 22: BLACK STEM ASPIRANTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE Association for Institutional Research Denver, Colorado May 28, 2015 Tanya Figueroa, Ashlee Wilkins.

Conceptual Framework

Critical Perspectives

• Microaggressions

(Sue et al., 2007)

• Campus Climate (Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000

Social Factors

• Faculty (Hoffman & Oreopoulos, 2007)

• Peers (Harper & Quaye, 2007; Museus, 2008)

The Institutional Context

• Designation (Toldson,2013)

• Selectivity (Chang et al, 2008)