Retention Versus Persistence: A Self-Determination Analysis of Students of Color in STEM

• In Event: Race and Ethnicity in the Study of Learning and Motivation Within Educational Contexts

Abstract

Concerns over the under-representation of students of color and women in STEM fields are far from new. From issues of recruitment to retention and degree completion, the, in some cases, extreme underrepresentation of African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans has drawn the attention of researchers, administrators and practitioners from across K-12 and throughout higher education (Cromley et al., 2013; Gasman & Perna, 2011; Hurtado, Cabrera, Lin & Arellano, 2009). Further, the research on retention and persistence in STEM has been mostly very consistent in its findings and suggestions to institutions moving forward. Institutions, broadly speaking, and specifically STEM programs within the university and college structure are consistently told that they must create an environment that is conducive to meaningful faculty-student interactions (Hurtado et al., 2011; Johnson, 2007) and that student-student interactions must likewise be available and authentic (Joseph, 2012). Academic resources should be plentiful and institutions and programs have been informed that African American, Hispanic and Native American students may need to have their interest in STEM piqued (Linley & George-Jackson, 2013).

Despite this somewhat intense and hardly-new focus, the disparities persist. In 2006, 8.3%, 7.7%, 9.3% of bachelors degrees in STEM were awarded to Black, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander students, respectively, and a microscopic 0.7% to Native Americans. These percentages also represent only moderate gains for most minority groups. Only Asians saw at least a 1% increase in undergraduate degree attainment in STEM fields over the previous 9 years. At the graduate level, the numbers are even more troublesome, with Black, Hispanic and Native American students earning only 6.6, 4.7, and 0.5%, respectively, of the Masters degrees in STEM fields and only 2.5, 2.9, and 0.2% of doctoral degrees granted in these fields (NSF, 2010).

These data illustrate the need to examine this old problem with new eyes. Accordingly, in this paper, I take a look at the motivational issues underlying retention and persistence of college students of color in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs. Specifically, I examine the ideas of retention, a student-centered variable, versus retention, an institution-centered variable, situating them within a self-determination framework to understand the motivation of students of color in STEM fields and how this motivation influences their decisions to persist and institutions’ and STEM programs’ ability to retain them. I discuss factors shown to be integral to both retention and persistence in STEM, with a focus on those factors relevant to students who are underrepresented in STEM, namely African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native American students. I conclude this paper with a discussion of key ideas and directions for future research.

Author

• Kelly A. Rodgers, City University of New York