Assessing Peer Attitudes Among Stem Students And The Potential Effects On The Retention Of Minorities In Stem Programs

Numerous national policy papers and studies have reported that the continued lack of recruitment and retention in STEM fields among historically under-represented populations has a serious impact on the economic well being of the United States and its citizenry. Much attention has been paid to the attitudes and interests of minority students regarding their desire to pursue postsecondary education in STEM as well as their persistence in these efforts. In addition, various efforts have been made to increase the recruitment and retention of these populations through outreach programs, mentoring, and summer activities. Less attention has been paid to the pervasive attitudes and actions of their peers within the STEM fields and throughout the STEM pipeline and how these attitudes may have a deleterious effect on the retention rate of minorities in STEM programs over time. Faculty in the College of Engineering and Computer Science in partnership with faculty in the College of Education and Psychology at the University have begun to assess the attitudes and opinions of STEM students about themselves and about their peers with regards to ability and persistence in STEM education and how these attitudes and opinions might affect others in their peer group longitudinally. Students in freshmen engineering courses, senior level high school courses, and middle school science courses have participated in an extensive survey to assess their current status in STEM coursework, intentions regarding their future in STEM education, and their attitudes and opinions about the coursework and participation of their STEM peers. This paper describes the results of this preliminary survey assessment within and across the selected grade bands and the implications of these results on efforts to refine recruitment and retention among minorities.