Open AccessResults from a 14-Year Intervention Program Designed to Impact Pursuit of a PhD in Research among Underrepresented Students in STEM Disciplines
Author(s) -
Gretchen Schneider Burton,
Eugene Kennedy,
Maria da Graça H. Vicente
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal for stem education research/journal for stem education research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2520-8713
pISSN - 2520-8705
DOI - 10.1007/s41979-019-00019-6
Subject(s) - matriculation , medical education , psychological intervention , workforce , intervention (counseling) , psychology , mathematics education , engineering management , political science , engineering , medicine , psychiatry , law
Minority research and training (MRT) programs have been used across U.S. colleges and universities as a method to close the educational achievement gap and generate a highly skilled and diverse workforce. Previous studies have improved our understanding of the need to diversify the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and the various interventions that have been developed to support these efforts. However, there is still little evidence about what strategies are most effective in promoting interest, continuation, and matriculation into STEM graduate programs among underrepresented groups. The study herein utilized a case study design with a mixed methods approach to evaluate the program impacts and outcomes of an MRT program at a research-intensive institution in the southern part of the U.S., and for program replication. This evaluation study examines the types of activities and services provided, the measurable outcomes of those activities and services, the resources used to deliver the services, the practical problems encountered, and the ways in which problems were resolved.