Echoes of a Pandemic: STEM Students’ Science Identity, Belonging, and Self-Efficacy Across Time

• In Event: Science and STEM Identity Development and Formation

Abstract

This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the formation of science identity, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy among undergraduate STEM scholars, based on longitudinal data from the UNCG NSF-funded Science, Technology, and Mathematics Preparation Scholarships (STAMPS) program. We examine differences between Cohort 1, which entered the program during the later stage of the pandemic (Fall 2021), and Cohort 2, which began after campuses returned to in-person instruction (Fall 2022), and also differences between the First-time in College (FTIC) students and Transfer Students from Community Colleges. The goal is to illuminate how historical disruptions, such as the pandemic, influence science identity development, persistence, and perceived support systems.

Authors

• Janet Oluwafunmilola Arogundade, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Stacy R. Huff, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Aileen Reid, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Malcolm Schug, University of North Carolina - Greensboro