College Savings, Expectation Gaps, and STEM Outcomes: A General Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

• In Event: 63.084 - MTCC Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 63.084-6 - Building Connections and Pursuing Equity in Higher Education

Abstract

Recent research has pointed to college savings accounts (CSAs) as being one of the most influential factors in predicting academic achievement and the mindsets that accompany them—specifically students’ expectations for college. However, few studies have explored how CSAs—when mediated by college expectations—can impact a student’s pursuit of high-status occupations, such as those found in STEM. Using Oyersman’s Identity Based Motivational Theory, this study will explore how CSAs impact the college expectations of high school students and how these expectations then impact STEM Outcomes. In doing so, CSAs may be seen as part of the solution to solving the “lost talent” problem—students who have educational expectations that fall short of their aspirations.

Author

• Jason F Jabbari, Washington University in St. Louis