Navigating success: what factors influence success among Latina STEM community college students?

2019-04-29While women in the United States make up about 50% of the population, less than 20% of women obtain a bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or physics (NSF, 2017). It is also important to note that the percentages among Latina students is significantly lower. Among Latina students, less than 2% obtain a bachelor's degree in computer science, about 3% in mathematics, 2% in engineering, and less than 6% in biological sciences. Given these low percentages, research is needed to better understand what prevents women, especially Latina’s, from pursuing a STEM major. The two-part purpose of this mixed-methods study was to (a) understand the factors that influence persistence among Latina STEM students and (b) examine the Psychosociocultural (PSC) factors that promote or impede success within this population. Following the collection of quantitative data using an online anonymous survey, qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with five students. Analysis of the 31 survey responses using Spearman correlations showed that all correlations to be in the positive direction and significant at least at the p <.05 level. In addition, the strongest correlations with the persistence score were for: (a) belonging score (rₛ = .82, p <.001); (b) self-esteem score (rₛ = .80, p <.001); (c) campus climate score (rₛ = .73, p <.001). Finally, the data also revealed that four of the seven demographic variables collected in the survey were significantly related to persistence. For example, higher persistence scores were found among those respondents who: (a) were younger (rₛ = -.30, p <.10); and (b) had graduated from high school more recently (rₛ = -.33, p <.10). Results from the five qualitative interviews suggested that participants spent the majority of their interviews discussing faculty support and interactions that they had with their teachers in and out of the classroom. They also spent a lot of time discussing self-efficacy, including struggles with time management and feeling unsure of themselves, but also their ability to overcome obstacles and persevere. Additionally, specific participants discussed the lack of female students in their STEM classes, the need for more support specifically for female students, and feeling a stronger connection to female faculty compared to male faculty. Based on these findings, recommendations for practice are to create a support organization specifically for women in STEM, provide faculty with diversity and sensitivity training, hire more STEM counselors, and include a parent component as part of the STEM support services offered. It is also important to address the lack of inclusion that currently exists within the STEM workforce and find new ways to ensure that women and underrepresented minorities feel comfortable in this field. Recommendations for future research include extending the study across multiple community colleges, conducting a longitudinal study, and analyzing other PSC factors that were not covered in this study