Perceptions of Secondary STEM Teaching: Institution, Gender, and First-Generation Status Matter

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring the Intersection of Art, Diversity, and Teacher Training in STEM Education (Table 12)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore factors affecting attrition of undergraduates with a strong STEM content background into the field of Education, particularly within high-need school districts. This research was conducted as part of the NSF-sponsored Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship project collaboration between a four-year private residential college and a community college in New England (hereafter “the project”). Results from a survey administered to undergraduates at both a community and four-year college shed insight into the upsides, downsides, and enticements to enter teaching. Understanding the role perception has for each type of student is vital as the need for teachers increases and the number of students who begin their post-secondary education at community colleges also increases.

Author

• Patricia Waters, St. Joseph's College of Maine