STEM SWITCHING: EXAMINING DEPARTURES OF UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN IN STEM FIELDS

Casey E. George‐Jackson

35 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering

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Career Development and Diversity Higher Education Research Studies Science Education and Perceptions

Abstract

This study uses longitudinal data of undergraduate students from five public land-grant universities to better understand undergraduate students' persistence in and switching of majors, with particular attention given to women's participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The study examines patterns of behavior of women in relation to students' initial choice of college major and major field persistence. Of particular interest is what fields students enter upon departing from an initial STEM major, rather than assuming that such movements are a loss to the STEM fields. Factors that impact major field persistence are also examined, as well as how switching majors affects students' time-to-degree. Using a broad definition of STEM, data from nearly 17,000 undergraduate students was analyzed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. The results highlight women's retention in STEM through their movement between a variety of STEM majors, challenging common notions of departure from the STEM fields. The study calls for researchers to use a broad definition of STEM and highlights the need to follow students upon switching majors.

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2005Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter?1986A History of American Higher Education 1963The American College and University: A History 1997The incredible shrinking pipeline 1999Choice of Major: The Changing (Unchanging) Gender Gap 2003A Retrospective on Undergraduate Engineering Success for Underrepresented Minority Students 1998Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 2009Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Postsecondary Education. Stats in Brief. NCES 2009-161.

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2017Latin@s in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at the Intersections 2022Hidden Bias, Low Expectations, and Social Stereotypes: Understanding Female Students’ Retention in Math-Intensive STEM Fields 2014Undergraduate Women’s Persistence in the Sciences 2014Why so few women in STEM: The role of social coping 2024Beyond the monolith: A systematic review of the literature on Latiné/x/a/o students in engineering using a liberative approach

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