Examining the Joint Roles of Racial-Ethnic and Science Socialization on College Students’ STEM Academic Functioning

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 1:45 pm
  In Poster Session: Research Exploring Contextual Influences across the Lifespan: Grounded in Theories of Human Development

Abstract

Persistent racial-ethnic disparities in STEM fields highlight the need to better understand factors that shape academic outcome for minoritized students. This study investigates the extent to which science socialization and racial-ethnic(RE) socialization independently and interactively predict science motivation and academic achievement, among ethno-racially diverse US college students. We predicted both science and RE-socialization would independently predict greater motivation and achievement, and that RE-socialization would amplify these positive effects of science socialization. Although results did not show RE-socialization as a positive predictor, science socialization was still positively related to science competency belief, science value belief, and educational aspiration. These findings necessitate future exploration of the link between RE-socialization, specifically in STEM contexts, to further understand the persistent disparities across racial groups.

Authors

• Jingyi Yuan, University of Rochester

• Nestor Tulagan, University of Rochester