Accentuating Advantage: Developing Science Identity During College

• In Event: Talent and Identity Development Across the STEM Pathway

Abstract

Developing a commitment to a discipline early in college can have long-lasting effects on major persistence as students matriculate toward graduation. With the high attrition rates found in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines (HERI, 2010), practitioners and policymakers need to identify best practices that promote students’ development of a stronger identity with their STEM major. The development of a strong science identity has been shown to improve science major persistence (Chang, Eagan, Lin, & Hurtado, in press) and shape students’ trajectories within scientific disciplines (Carlone & Johnson, 2007). We examine student experiences and institutional contexts that shape the development of students’ science identity during college. We also draw from the frameworks of accumulative advantage (Allison, Long, & Krauze, 1982; Allison & Stewart, 1974) and accentuation effects (Feldman & Newcomb, 1969; Nelson Laird, Engberg, & Hurtado, 2005) to examine the long-term benefits of pre-college and first-year experiences on science identity.

We utilize a sample of 1,133 aspiring STEM majors who completed the 2004 Freshman Survey, the 2005 Your First College Year survey, and the 2008 College Senior Survey. The dependent variable for the study is a construct measuring students’ science identity. This construct includes four items appearing on each of the three surveys and measures the importance students placed on becoming an authority in a specific field; being recognized for contributions in a specific field; making a theoretical contribution to science; and working to find a cure to a major health problem. These student values correspond to the central features of Carlone and Johnson’s (2007) science identity model: competence, performance, and recognition. We analyze this construct across three time points using structural equation modeling (SEM), which tests for direct and indirect effects on students’ development of a STEM identity (Bentler, 2006). Figure 1 provides an illustration of the variables and paths in the model.

Findings suggest that early exposure to research experiences can have long-term, positive effects on students’ development of a stronger STEM identity. Likewise, developing confidence in areas such as math early in one’s educational pathway can have positive benefits in identifying as a scientist. Students who are more successful in adjusting to the academic demands of college appear to have stronger STEM identities later in college; however, students who reported having changed their major in their first year of college scored lower on the STEM identity construct by the fourth year of college compared to peers who did not switch majors.

Results from this study have several implications, particularly for undergraduate research programs. Expanding opportunities for students to participate in undergraduate research during their first year of college may improve students’ STEM identity, which research suggests may provide for further talent development or at least stem the attrition rates from STEM fields (Chang et al., in press). Additionally, fostering a commitment to science early along the undergraduate STEM pathway may have substantial benefits toward strengthening students’ STEM identities later.

Authors

• Kevin Eagan, University of California - Los Angeles

• Sylvia Hurtado, University of California - Los Angeles

• Felisha Herrera, University of California - Los Angeles