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Limited literature has investigated the effects of state and institutional merit-based financial aid on student choice of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major fields, an unintended consequence with important implications. By leveraging nationally representative longitudinal data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students, we examined these effects—respectively and jointly—with logistic regressions (LR) and propensity score matching (PSM). Both the LR and PSM results showed that students who receive both state- and institution-awarded merit aid were more likely to major in STEM. For students who only received state-awarded merit aid, the PSM presented significant and positive effects while the LR did not. Institution-only merit aid had no statistically measurable effect. We discuss implications for research, policy, and practice for state- and institution-based financial aid. 

Introduction. Although the demand for graduates with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) credentials continues to climb, women remain underrepresented as both students and faculty in STEM higher education. Compounding social forces can hinder organizational change for gender equity in STEM, constraining institutions and individuals within them. This study advances macrostructural theory to examine the impact of gender composition (including group size and heterogeneity) of women faculty on structural change, as measured by gender desegregation of STEM degree earners. We advance this theory by incorporating faculty, rather than treating group composition as a static category. Method. This study draws on a federal repository of data to assess institutional change in the share of STEM women faculty in the U.S. We employ quasi-experimental methods to explore the following research questions: (1) does hiring more women onto an institution’s faculty roster shrink the gender gap among STEM degree earners? and (2) does segregation of faculty by gender within institutions shape the gender gap among STEM degree earners? Findings. While institutional efforts herald their efforts of hiring more women faculty, our findings indicate that gender desegregation of STEM degree earners partially depends on the promotion of women faculty to tenure. Discussion. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed, with a focus on institutional-level change.< 

Abstract Integrating microintervention strategies and the bystander intervention model, we examined social cognitive predictors (i.e., moral disengagement, empathy, and self-efficacy) of the five steps of the bystander intervention model (i.e., Notice, Interpret, Accept, Know, and Act) to address racial microaggressions in a sample of 452 racially diverse college students. Data were collected using an online survey. Path analyses showed that moral disengagement was significantly and negatively related to each step of the model for White students, but for students of color, it was only significantly negatively associated with Act. Empathy was significantly and positively associated with Interpret, Accept, and Act for White students. For student of color, however, there was a significant and positive association solely between Empathy and Act. For both White students and students of color, self-efficacy was positively associated with Notice, Interpret, Accept, Know, and Act. Finally, race did not significantly moderate any relationships. Strengths, limitations, future directions for research, and implications of the study findings are discussed. 

Abstract Purpose of the study Previous literature has examined the relationship between high school students’ postsecondary STEM major choices and their prior interest and perceived ability in mathematics. Yet, we have limited understanding of whether and how perceived ability and interest in science and mathematics jointly affect students’ STEM major choices. Results Using the most recent nationally representative longitudinal cohort of U.S. secondary school students, we examine the degree to which students’ perceived mathematical and scientific abilities and interests predict their STEM major choices, employing logistic regression and a series of interaction analyses. We find that while both mathematics and science perceived ability positively influence STEM major selection, academic interest in these subjects is a weaker predictor. Moreover, across a series of analyses, we observe a significant gender gap—whereby women are less than half as likely to select STEM majors—as well as nuanced distinctions by self-identified race. The relationships among perceived ability, interest, and STEM major choice are not found to meaningfully vary by race nor consistently by gender. However, perceived ability has a more positive effect for men than women who are pursuing Computing/Engineering majors and a more positive effect for women than men who are pursuing other STEM majors, including less applied Social/Behavioral, Natural, and Other Sciences. Implications These findings suggest potential opportunities to enhance their perceived mathematical and scientific abilities in high school, positioning them to potentially enter STEM fields. School sites with more resources to support the ambitions of STEM students of all backgrounds may be better positioned to reduce postsecondary disparities in STEM fields. Given existing opportunity gaps and resource differentials among schools, corresponding recommendations are suggested. 

Although gender parity has been achieved in some STEM fields, gender disparities persist in computing, one of the fastest-growing and highest-earning career fields. In this systematic literature review, we expand upon academic momentum theory to categorize computing interventions intended to make computing environments more inclusive to girls and women and consider how those characteristics vary by the success of the intervention. Particular attention is given to the efficacy of broadening participation and success for women in computer science, information technology, and related fields. After scrutinizing 168 relevant studies, 48 met the inclusion criteria and were included. We introduce a framework for gender equity in computing, expanding on existing research on academic and STEM momentum to encompass new domains representing social and structural momentum. Our analysis reveals the complex roles of intervention domains, strategies, goals, levels, and duration in shaping their efficacy. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. 

To sustain the higher education industry and address U.S. economic downturns, researchers must prioritize research on undergraduates aged 24 or above – contemporary students. This empirical study finds contemporary students have lower chances of attaining degrees—any degrees—than their younger peers. Using nationally representative U.S. data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Study, our interaction models reveal that the penalty experienced by contemporary-age students is more significant at four-year colleges where older students are less than half as likely to attain degrees as their younger peers. Transferring also distinctly and positively enhances the predicted probability of degree attainment for contemporary-age students (p < .000), reducing the age penalty. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing contemporary students in research and practice to increase degree attainment. We close with implications for practice, policy, and research. 

In this research paper, we explore the relationship between undergraduate students’ engineering identity development and their experiences before and during a materials science REU summer internship program. Insufficient diversity in engineering—and STEM fields overall—may impede scientific advancement and stifle innovation [1]. Yet, people of color and women remain highly underrepresented in engineering. According to the National Center for Education Statistics [2], there have been slight increases between 1998 and 2018 in the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to women (from 18.6% to 22.2%) and to Latino citizens and permanent residents (from 6.8% to 10.9%). Meanwhile, the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black U.S. citizens and permanent residents decreased from 5% in 1998 to 3.9% in 2018. This entrenched underrepresentation suggests a persistent and systemic problem remains in engineering, as demonstrated in other recent studies [3], [4]. Accordingly, our research examines the experiences of students participating in a broadening participation intervention while attending to their prior experiences in engineering and how their postsecondary experiences in and beyond the intervention shape their engineering identity development.