Vocational Interests and Self-Efficacy Beliefs as Predictors of STEM Outcomes Before, During, and After the First Year

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Postsecondary STEM 3

Abstract

Problems with postsecondary persistence and attainment have vexed practitioners, policymakers, and scholars for some time – particularly in STEM fields. This project examines how vocational interests and vocational self-efficacy — which conceptualize how people choose careers — longitudinally predict students’ STEM educational and occupational decision-making before, during and after the first year. These questions will be examined by applying logistic regression, classification analyses, and ROC curves to longitudinal datasets. This study is expected to improve our understanding of important antecedents of first-year success, persistence and later performance in STEM and thereby improve the capacity of youth interventions and counseling to foster STEM success.

Authors

• Qiu Wang, Syracuse University

• Matthew Diemer, Michigan State University