Socioeconomic Differences in College Student Persistence in STEM

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Race, Gender and STEM

Abstract

Growing global demand for skilled workers in STEM fields has generated a large body of research exploring math and science achievement and persistence in STEM fields. Given the high returns to a STEM education, a primary focus of this research has been on disparities in STEM and getting underrepresented groups interested in STEM and retaining those who choose a STEM field in college. To date, research has focused on differentials in access to and retention in STEM majors by race-ethnicity and gender with surprisingly little research exploring possible differences by family socioeconomic background. It remains unclear whether there are differences in retention rates by family background once students enter a major. This paper finds that low SES students in STEM fields are at a particular disadvantage of persisting in their first major. Among low-income students, those in STEM are more likely to leave college than their low-income peers in non-STEM majors (as well as their high-income peers in any major). Among first-generation students, they are both switching majors and leaving college at higher rates than their first-generation peers who enter non-STEM majors (as well as their continuing generation peers in any major).

Author

• Chelsea Moore, University of Massachusetts