Sloan Project for Diversity in STEM Retention
Background
Within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields,
racial/ethnic minority men and women tend to differ by the STEM majors
in which they persist to degree attainment. For instance, a greater
share of STEM bachelor's degrees conferred in 2000-2001 went to
racial/ethnic minority women than to their male counterparts in the
following fields: agriculture and natural resources, biological
sciences/life sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences and science
technologies. This trend was not found in engineering or computer and
information sciences (Digest of Education Statistics, 2003). Despite
observed variations in retention and degree attainment within STEM
majors by racial/ethnic group, gender, and STEM field, most retention
programs for these students fail to account for and address within- group
variances in their STEM experience (cf. Brown, 2002). Further, many
extant STEM retention programs targeting racial/ethnic minorities may
focus on factors, like provision of role models and increased number
of science and math courses, for which there is no empirical support
that they actually contribute to underrepresentation in the major (Lewis, 2003).
There is a clear need for detailed consideration of racial/ethnic minorities'
higher education experience within and across these groups (by race, by gender,
by STEM major).
Learn more about the SLOAN project from this article in the Capital Times:
Minorities Need Aid to Stay in Science (PDF)