Expectancy-Value Beliefs and STEM Persistence Intention at the Intersection of Gender and College-Going Status

• In Event: STEM: Cognition, Motivations, and Interventions

Abstract

The disproportionate attrition of women and first-generation (FG) college-going students in Chemistry and Physics majors relative to their men and continuing-generation (CG) peers is well documented. Students’ expectancy-value [EV] beliefs and sense of belonging in the field are established as promising pathways for supporting persistence. However, less is known about whether EV beliefs function in the same way across the groups. In this study, we investigate whether EV beliefs differentially relate to students’ persistence intention at the intersection of gender and college-going generation status.
We surveyed 3,086 undergraduates (52.4% women, 46.6% first-generation college students, 27% Hispanic; Mage= 18.23 , SD= 0.87 ) in introductory chemistry (N= 1,434) and physics courses (N= 1,652) in a public, Hispanic-serving university in Southwest U.S. about their EV beliefs (Expectancy: 4 items, α= .88; interest value: 10 items, α= .93; utility value: 4 items, α= .79; attainment value: 4 items, α= .88), sense of belonging in the field (5 items, α= .79), and their intentions to earn a degree in their respective fields (1 item).
Using multi-group regression analyses with FIML, we examined the extent to which students’ EV beliefs relate to their persistence intention while holding students’ sense of belonging, math score and racial/ethnic status constant for the following subgroups: FG women, CG women, FG men and CG men.
We found significant associations between EV beliefs and persistence intention. Moreover, Wald tests showed differential associations between subgroups in chemistry (Table 1) and physics (Table 2).
Expectancy was negatively associated with CG men’s persistence in chemistry and CG women’s persistence in physics—minority gender populations in the respective fields. This negative association suggests that their persistence intentions are particularly driven by values rather than confidence.
Interest was positively related to persistence intention for FG women, but not for CG women in both subjects; the association was also positive for FG men in physics. This finding suggests that FG students, though traditionally underrepresented, are resilient and optimistic to pursue their interest in STEM degrees, particularly in their respective gender-dominant fields.
Attainment and persistence intentions were positively related in both subjects, more strongly for CG men than FG men or CG women in chemistry. This difference possibly shows that STEM degree attainment is more strongly tied to CG men’s identity, who might feel more grounded in their career choices. Future research could explore the motivational processes underlying this difference.
Utility and persistence intention were consistently associated for all groups. Although literature indicates that practical considerations are more important for FG students and men, the promising career prospects of health sciences and engineering fields seem to make the utility advantage an important consideration for all students.
Our results highlight differentiated motivational associations for STEM persistence intentions across gender and college-going generation status. The varied associations might indicate that some students are motivated, but potentially hindered by other attitudes and experience. Future research could further unpack these differences to ultimately assist tailoring career advising and instructional support for students of diverse sociocultural backgrounds.

Authors

• Yannan Gao, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Anna-Lena Dicke, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nayssan Safavian, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jacquelynne S. Eccles, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author