A Systematized Literature Review of the Factors that Predict the Retention of Racially Minoritized Students in STEM Graduate Degree Programs

Fantasi Nicole; Jennifer Deboer

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: Growing and Maintaining Graduate Enrollment
Tagged Division: Graduate Studies
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 20
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--34069
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/34069
Download Count: 1081

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Paper Authors

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Fantasi Nicole Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Fantasi Nicole (Curry) is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her overall research aim is to broaden participation for Black engineers in graduate school and industry by addressing systemic inequalities and promoting inclusive pedagogy. Her interests stem from her experiences in engineering as a Black woman throughout her undergraduate, graduate, and professional endeavors. For the past nine years, she has been heavily involved with the recruitment, mentoring, and tutoring of racially minoritized groups within engineering through her employment with diversity, k-12, and minority engineering programs, and through membership in professional societies.
Fantasi Nicole received her Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Mississippi State University in 2016, and her Master of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University in 2017.
She worked as a Manufacturing Engineer in Stamping Engineering for Ford Motor Company before making the decision to pursue her PhD in Engineering Education at Purdue.

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Jennifer Deboer Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Jennifer DeBoer is currently Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her research focuses on international education systems, individual and social development, technology use and STEM learning, and educational environments for diverse learners.

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Abstract

A Systematized Literature Review of The Factors that Influence the Retention of Racially Minoritized Students in STEM Graduate Degree Programs Abstract According to ASEE’s 2018 “Engineering by the Numbers” Report, racially minoritized students constituted 19.1% of engineering baccalaureate degrees awarded, 17.4% of engineering master’s degrees awarded, and 12.1% of engineering doctoral degrees awarded across the United States. There is a significant and troubling decrease in the representation of Hispanic or Latinx, Black and/or African American, American Indian or Native American, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders as we move up the graduate seniority levels. This is a concern that is mirrored in a lack of continuance to graduate study across all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. While there is currently an extensive body of research on the factors that predict the retention of racially minoritized groups in undergraduate education, it fails to provide scholarly insights or recommendations for practice on factors that impact graduate education. To combat the issue of underrepresentation, it is important for researchers to understand these factors, how they may differ from K-12 and undergraduate levels, and what types of interventions can be put in place to address them. To respond to this need, we present a systematized literature review of articles relevant to understanding the factors that predict the retention of underrepresented and/or racially minoritized students in STEM graduate degree programs.

This systematized literature review found three emergent themes that contribute to the internal attitude to persist and external environment conducive to retention. These themes are grouped by personal factors, social factors, and institutional factors. Findings suggest that there are personal factors that influence minoritized graduate students’ retention such as internal motivation, identity development, perception of support, and resilience towards stereotypes, bias, and past experiences. Social/relational aspects also heavily influence students’ retention through factors such as sense of belonging, discrimination, advisor and faculty support, mentoring, and work-life balance. Furthermore, the results also identify institutional factors as key players in the retention of minoritized graduate students. These factors are department and campus culture, access to URM (underrepresented minority) role models, and vast networks of societies, alumni, and government programs. The amount of information that was available on these minoritized groups in STEM graduate degree programs was a limitation for this study, but it also pointed to an important gap in the literature, which must be addressed in order to create effective interventions that broaden participation in STEM graduate studies and furthermore in the STEM ecosystem.

Citation
Format

Nicole, F., & Deboer, J. (2020, June), A Systematized Literature Review of the Factors that Predict the Retention of Racially Minoritized Students in STEM Graduate Degree Programs Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34069

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A Systematized Literature Review of The Factors that Influence the Retention of Racially Minoritized Students in STEM Graduate Degree Programs
Abstract
According to ASEE’s 2018 “Engineering by the Numbers” Report, racially minoritized students constituted 19.1% of engineering baccalaureate degrees awarded, 17.4% of engineering master’s degrees awarded, and 12.1% of engineering doctoral degrees awarded across the United States.  There is a significant and troubling decrease in the representation of Hispanic or Latinx, Black and/or African American, American Indian or Native American, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders as we move up the graduate seniority levels. This is a concern that is mirrored in a lack of continuance to graduate study across all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. While there is currently an extensive body of research on the factors that predict the retention of racially minoritized groups in undergraduate education, it fails to provide scholarly insights or recommendations for practice on factors that impact graduate education.  To combat the issue of underrepresentation, it is important for researchers to understand these factors, how they may differ from K-12 and undergraduate levels, and what types of interventions can be put in place to address them. To respond to this need, we present a systematized literature review of articles relevant to understanding the factors that predict the retention of underrepresented and/or racially minoritized students in STEM graduate degree programs.  

This systematized literature review found three emergent themes that contribute to the internal attitude to persist and external environment conducive to retention. These themes are grouped by personal factors, social factors, and institutional factors. Findings suggest that there are personal factors that influence minoritized graduate students’ retention such as internal motivation, identity development, perception of support, and resilience towards stereotypes, bias, and past experiences.  Social/relational aspects also heavily influence students’ retention through factors such as sense of belonging, discrimination, advisor and faculty support, mentoring, and work-life balance. Furthermore, the results also identify institutional factors as key players in the retention of minoritized graduate students.  These factors are department and campus culture, access to URM (underrepresented minority) role models, and vast networks of societies, alumni, and government programs. The amount of information that was available on these minoritized groups in STEM graduate degree programs was a limitation for this study, but it also pointed to an important gap in the literature, which must be addressed in order to create effective interventions that broaden participation in STEM graduate studies and furthermore in the STEM ecosystem.  

AU  - Fantasi Nicole
AU  - Jennifer Deboer
CY  - Virtual On line 
DA  - 2020/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Systematized Literature Review of the Factors that Predict the Retention of Racially Minoritized Students in STEM Graduate Degree Programs
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/34069
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--34069
ER  -