Growth mindset matters : an explanatory sequential study on the underrepresented minority student experience in a community college introductory science classroom.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) fields face challenges with underrepresented minority (URM) student achievement and retention. White students earned 59% of bachelor's degrees in science and engineering, while LatinX and African American students earned 16% and 9% respectively (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2019). Females earned 39% of all STEM bachelor's degrees in 2021-2022 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024). A University of California campus study discovered that while 33.4% of URM students initially chose a science major, only 24.6% graduated with a science degree within five years (Arcidiacono et al., 2016). A study conducted by Koch et al. (2022) revealed that the persistence in the STEM major was higher for males (65%) than females (48%). This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the relationship between ethnicity and gender with students' attitudes toward STEM, student career interest in STEM, and student growth mindset. The quantitative phase measured STEM interest using the STEM Semantics Survey, STEM career interest with the STEM Career Interest Survey (CIS), and the growth mindset belief utilizing Dweck's Mindset Instrument (DMI). The qualitative phase examined student experiences in an introductory science class. The integration involved explaining students' STEM attitudes and growth mindset beliefs in terms of their classroom experiences. In the quantitative phase, ethnicity and gender were not statistically significant predictors of my participants' feelings about STEM courses, STEM career interests, or the growth mindset belief of community college students. Participant interviews revealed that misconceptions contributed to class struggles, positive influences provided motivation, and prior experiences helped understand the class expectations. The integration revealed no alignment between the quantitative and qualitative data for the STEM Semantics Survey, but some alignment for the STEM Career Interest Survey and Dweck's Mindset Instrument was present. The study provided recommendations for URM STEM community college students including communication with peers and professors and finding support programs to build community opportunities. The recommendations for STEM professors include explaining expectations to students during the first week of classes, sharing real-world examples to connect with students, and providing a welcoming environment for students.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Fitzgerald, John Brodney, 1976-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sanguras, Laila Y., 1977-

• Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
• Retention.
• Underrepresented minorities.
• Achievement.
• Growth mindset.
• Student engagement.
• Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) interest.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13073

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13073