This research paper presents preliminary results of the Educational Ecosystem Health Survey (EEHS), a survey instrument designed by the Eco-STEM team at California State University, Los Angeles, a regionally serving, very high Hispanic-enrolling Minority Serving Institution (MSI). The purpose of the instrument is to quantitatively measure the health of the STEM educational ecosystem from the perspectives of the actors within it. The Eco-STEM team is implementing an ongoing NSF-funded research project aiming to change the paradigm of teaching and learning in STEM and its aligned mental models from factory-like to ecosystem- like. We hypothesize that this model of education will better support students and their individual needs. The pilot results of administering the EEHS to students within the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology and the College of Natural and Social Sciences provide a baseline from which the Eco-STEM team will analyze diversion – and, hopefully, improvement – over the coming years of the project.
The pilot survey was administered to undergraduate and graduate students at California State University, Los Angeles, of which the majority have ethnically- and socioeconomically- minoritized backgrounds. The EEHS is comprised of validated survey instruments that query students’ perceptions of various aspects of systemic educational health. These instruments measure the constructs of Classroom Comfort, Faculty Understanding, Belongingness, Thriving, Mindfulness, and Motivation. T-tests and ANOVA models are employed to analyze variations in responses among students based on a host of demographic identifiers. Pilot results from the first administration of the survey include, for example, statistically significant lower reported levels of thriving and mindfulness for students who identify as LGBTQIA+ than those who do not, as well as far lower levels of ecosystem health overall for students who do not have access to stable housing. Additional statistically significant results are identified on the bases of students’ gender, race/ethnicity, disability status, veteran status, undergraduate versus graduate student status, college of study, employment situation, and more detailed housing situation.
The pilot results of the EEHS provide detailed insight into the experiences and needs of students in STEM programs at MSIs and regionally serving institutions. The results may also be useful within the contexts of a diverse range of institutions as they strive to serve students from historically marginalized backgrounds.
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Distress among undergraduates: Marginality, stressors and resilience resources
Objective: This study addresses mental health concerns among university students, examining cumulative stress exposure as well as resilience resources. Participants: Participants were 253 first- and second-year undergraduate students (age = 18.76; 49.80% male, 69% students of color) enrolled at a large western US university. Methods: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional online survey examining marginalized statuses and multiple stressors alongside coping responses, adaptive self-concept, and social support as predictors of stress, anxiety, and depression. Results: Multivariate regressions demonstrated significant associations between stress exposures and lower levels of resilience resources with each mental health indicator (with substantial R2 of.49-.60). Although stressor exposures accounted for significant increases in mental health concerns, their exploratory power was attenuated by resilience resources (e.g., beta decreases from.25 to.16). Conclusions: Better understanding cumulative adversity/resilience resource profiles, particularly among marginalized students, can help universities in prioritizing institutional support responses toward prevention and mitigating psychological distress.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2009977
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10287394
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of American college health
- ISSN:
- 0744-8481
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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