Intersected Experiences: Comparing Student Pathways in and out of STEM

• In Event: Pathways Through Math Across Levels of Schooling

Abstract

This paper will provide a ‘first look’ at a longitudinal, mixed methods project that explores students’ experiences pursuing STEM degrees with their peers in other majors. We provide a comparison of how students at a large, public research university navigate campus as they pursue their degrees in STEM and non-STEM fields using the lens of intersectionality. Our comparison uses the first wave of interviews with a diverse sample of 100 students with available quantitative data from the same campus to identify how these students navigate their pathways to degree completion from varying social positions. These analyses examine how individual orientations and institutional practices concurrently influence underrepresented students’ achievement, persistence, college attainment, and career attainment after college, particularly in STEM fields.

Authors

• Sarah M. Ovink, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• William Carson Byrd, University of Louisville