Perceptions of STEM Faculty and Lab Mates' Values Predict Student Research and Career Interest

• In Event: Leveling the Playing Field: Utilizing Interest and/or Value for Engagement and Learning

Abstract

Objectives and Background
People often think of interest as an individual experience, but parents, peers, teachers, and others influence student interest development through several known processes (Bergin, 2016; Hulleman et al. 2017). These social influences can lead to inequitable outcomes when they systematically benefit students from historically well-represented backgrounds (Thoman et al., 2019). We investigate potentially inequitable social influences on STEM interest among students working in faculty-led research labs. Participating in research is a critical gateway to advancement in STEM. The unique group context of a lab can be thought of as a research “micro-culture” that can foster or impede students’ science interest (Thoman et al., 2017). Both faculty mentors and labmates can play a significant role in fostering and sustaining student interest in science (Hernandez et al., 2017; Sánchez et al., 2022; Thoman et al., 2017). We focus on students’ perceptions of the extent to which their faculty and labmates value prosocial goals of helping others and benefitting their communities through science. Underrepresented minority (URM) students tend to highly value prosocial goals (Jackson et al., 2016) and we predict that research microcultures perceived as less supportive of these values will lead to inequitable student interest.

Methods
We recruited 206 undergraduate and graduate students (67.5% White, 19.5% Asian, 13% URM; 56.4% women) working in 56 faculty-led STEM research labs across three universities. Participants completed surveys measuring their perceptions of their labmate and faculty mentor’s prosocial values (e.g., “It is important for my [labmates/faculty supervisor] that the research work that they do in this lab gives them an opportunity to be helpful to others”), and surveys of their own research and STEM career interest.

Results and Significance
We used multilevel models to account for the nesting of students in research labs. Student perceptions of faculty prosocial values positively predicted student research interest (β = .43) and career interest (β = .31). Moderation analysis demonstrated this effect on career interest to be significant only for URM (β = .46) and Asian (β = .36) students, but not White students (β = .13). The same pattern replicated for perceptions of labmate prosocial values, which positively predicted student research interest (β = .41) and career interest (β = .28). Again, the effect on career interest was only significant for URM (β = .42) and Asian (β = .37) students, but not White students (β = .09). Results hold when we statistically control for student’s own prosocial values.
Students learn about the culture of science by looking to others, particularly when they work in research labs. Their perceptions of their faculty and labmates’ values have implications for their interest in STEM, and these social influences are not the same for all students. URM students who place higher value on prosociality in STEM (Jackson et al., 2016) are motivated by the belief that their faculty and labmates are also motivated by these values, and this supports their interest development. These findings should inform interventions by faculty who strive to create more inclusive research labs.

Authors

• Ivan A. Hernandez, San Diego State University
  Presenting Author

• Dustin Thoman, San Diego State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Oliva Segura, San Diego State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessi L. Smith, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs
  Non-Presenting Author