STEM Field Persistence: The Impact of Engagement on Postsecondary STEM Persistence for Underrepresented Minority Students

Abstract

Persistence studies in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields indicate that the pipeline to degree attainment is “leaky” and underrepresented minorities are not persisting in the STEM fields. Those students who do not persist in the STEM fields either migrate to other fields of study or drop out of higher education altogether. Studies of STEM student attrition point to a student perception of faculty disconnection from students calling this the “chilly climate” (Seymour & Hewitt, 1997). Engagement theory states, “…it is the individual’s integration into the academic and social systems of the college that most directly related to his continuance in that college” (Tinto, 1993). A “chilly climate” in the STEM fields could then reflect in measures of academic and social engagement. This study uses the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Student Survey, 2004-2009 (BPS:04/09) (Cominole, Wheeless, Dudley, Franklin, & Wine, 2007) and logistic regression analyses to examine academic and social engagements’ impact on STEM field persistence in postsecondary education, net of individual and institutional factors. Analysis by ethnicity, initial major, and engagement demonstrate that underrepresented minorities have different engagement patterns, but these engagement behaviors do not contribute significantly to staying in the STEM fields.