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The role of high school racial composition and opportunities to learn in students' STEM college participation
Author(s) -
Bottia Martha Cecilia,
Mickelson Roslyn Arlin,
Giersch Jason,
Stearns Elizabeth,
Moller Stephanie
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.21426
Subject(s) - racial composition , composition (language) , mathematics education , race (biology) , white (mutation) , public university , african american , underrepresented minority , science education , psychology , medical education , sociology , political science , medicine , gender studies , chemistry , public administration , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , ethnology , gene
We analyze longitudinal data from students who spent their academic careers in North Carolina (NC) public secondary schools and attended NC public universities to investigate the importance of high school racial composition and opportunities to learn in secondary school for choosing a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major. We consider school racial composition and opportunities to learn as contexts that shape students' decisions regarding college majors. Results of cross‐classified hierarchical logistic models indicate that attending schools with predominantly White students is negatively associated with declaring a STEM major and with graduating with a STEM major irrespective of students' own race. The finding suggests that for students in North Carolina, attending racially isolated White high schools is related to a decrease in adolescents' participation in STEM during college.