Factors Influencing High School Asian American Students’ STEM Major Choice: A Systematic Review (Poster 31)

• In Event: Thursday Poster Session 10:50 am
  In Poster Session: Research Syntheses and Meta-Analyses in Education: Exemplar Studies and Methodological Guidance

Abstract

As a leading ethnic group in STEM, research has primarily analyzed the underlying mechanisms of major choice of Asian students in STEM. However, the extent to which these findings corroborate with each other is not known. This study contributes to the growing literature by synthesizing these findings through a systematic review considering ecological systems theory to examine factors influencing high school Asian students’ STEM major decisions. The findings indicated that more articles frequently discussed students’ characteristics, family, high school preparation as factors, and less articles mentioned community and culture. Further research should focus on relationships within factors and consider the difference among Asian subgroups. These findings have important implications regarding educational policies, curriculum design, college preparation, and counseling strategies.

Authors

• Jinhua Zhao, Texas A&M University

• Xiao Meng, Texas A&M University