Congratulations to Melissa Solis who on Friday, May 23, 2025 successfully defended her dissertation. The title of Melissa’s dissertation is: "A STEM PREPARATION PROGRAM: EXPECTANCY BELIEFS, PERCEIVED VALUES, AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS OF BLACK AND HISPANIC UNDERGRADUATES."
In response to concern over a lack of diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), higher education institutions across New York state apply for the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) grant through New York State Education Department (NYSED). NYSED has committed significant funding to increase access by underrepresented racially minoritized or economically disadvantaged students to STEM academic programs, health-related fields, and licensed professions. Drawing from the situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT), this cross-sequential quantitative study explored the extent to which race or ethnicity affects expectancies for success (i.e., self-efficacy) and value beliefs in STEM learning and career aspirations of Black and Hispanic CSTEP students from several colleges and universities across New York state in relation to CSTEP program at the postsecondary level. Furthermore, the study examined the associations of the perceived STEM expectancies and values, and career aspirations, sense of belonging to CSTEP, science identity, and STEM involvement. The participants were 116 upper-level STEM students at 2- and 4-year institutions. The results of the multiple linear regression analyses indicated Black and Hispanic students had lower expectancies for success and value beliefs in STEM and career aspirations than White students, and these results were insignificant, with the exception of expectancy for STEM coursework of Hispanic CSTEP students, after controlling for STEM grade point average and demographic controls, including gender, race and ethnicity, and social capital. The regression models examining the perceived STEM expectancies and values about STEM career aspirations, sense of belonging to CSTEP, science identity, and involvement in STEM-related activities revealed statistically significant results for some of the outcome variables. Although CSTEP was not differentially effective for Black and Hispanic students’ STEM motivation and career aspirations, Black and Hispanic students’ expectancy beliefs about success in CSTEP and their perceptions that CSTEP was interesting, important, and useful were particularly strong. Moreover, their mean scores on the career aspirations scale were quite strong. Implications based on the results of this study and some recommendations for future research are discussed.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR(S):
Dr. Nora Broege
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEMBER(S):
Dr. Yiping Wan
Dr. Akane Zusho
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