Stability and changes in high school students' STEM career expectations: Variability based on STEM support and parent education

Christine R. Starr · Perla Ramos Carranza · Sandra D. Simpkins

40 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Adolescence

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Career Development and Diversity Education, Achievement, and Giftedness Science Education and Perceptions

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Why do some students maintain their career expectations in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), whereas others change their expectations? Using situated expectancy-value and social cognitive career theories, we sought to investigate the extent to which STEM support predicted changes in students' STEM career expectations during high school, and if these processes varied by whether the student had college educated or noncollege educated parents. METHODS: Using the nationally representative data set of the High School Longitudinal Study, we investigated the predictors of changes in US students' STEM career expectations from 9th to 11th grade (n = 13,100, 54% noncollege educated parents, 51% girls, 55% White, 21% Latinx, 12% Black). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Students with noncollege educated parents were significantly more likely to change from STEM to non-STEM career expectations by 11th grade or to have stable non-STEM career expectations (compared to having stable STEM expectations or changing from non-STEM to STEM expectations). Additionally, students with noncollege educated parents were less likely to receive STEM support from parents and attend extracurricular activities compared to students with college educated parents. However, when examining the predictors among students with noncollege educated parents, students were more likely to maintain their expectations for a STEM career from 9th to 11th grade (compared to switching to a non-STEM career) if they had parental STEM support. Additionally, all students regardless of parents' level of education were more likely to maintain their expectations for a STEM career (vs. switching to a non-STEM career) through high school if they received teacher STEM support. Furthermore, students were more likely to develop STEM career expectations (vs. maintaining non-STEM career expectations) if they had parent STEM support. These findings highlight how parent and teacher STEM support may bolster STEM career expectations, particularly among students with noncollege educated parents.

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2005The Influence of Parent Education and Family Income on Child Achievement: The Indirect Role of Parental Expectations and the Home Environment.2020From expectancy-value theory to situated expectancy-value theory: A developmental, social cognitive, and sociocultural perspective on motivation 2003The Specificity of Environmental Influence: Socioeconomic Status Affects Early Vocabulary Development Via Maternal Speech 2005Organized activities as contexts of development : extracurricular activities, after-school, and community programs 2009Is science me? High school students' identities, participation and aspirations in science, engineering, and medicine 2013Does Parental Involvement Matter for Student Achievement and Mental Health in High School?2012Science Aspirations, Capital, and Family Habitus 2019Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models

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