Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
5-8-2024 11:00 AM
End Date
5-8-2024 1:00 PM
Subjects
Education, Transfer students
Advisor
Erin Shortlidge
Student Level
Undergraduate
Abstract
There is an ongoing disconnect between the number of students who enter college intending to earn a STEM degree and the number of students who persist to degree, this is particularly true for transfer students. Sense of belonging has been named as a STEM persistence factor, yet how that belonging develops for transfer students is largely unknown. Here we used a mixed-methods design to explore the experiences of STEM transfer students at PSU (n=38). Participants completed a survey prior to participating in an interview. The survey and interviews explored their science identity, sense of belonging, and involvement in STEM-related activities. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and de-identified. We leveraged a framework: Core Elements of Sense of Belonging to iteratively code student interviews and identify overarching themes. Preliminary results reveal that engaging in multiple STEM programs facilitate a dosage effect that reflects their perspective on community; communal support through faculty and peers allows students to be more motivated to succeed. This research contributes to the literature on STEM transfer student belonging and can inform future programming and structures to better support these students to graduation.
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Exploring Factors that Contribute to STEM Transfer Student Sense of Belonging
There is an ongoing disconnect between the number of students who enter college intending to earn a STEM degree and the number of students who persist to degree, this is particularly true for transfer students. Sense of belonging has been named as a STEM persistence factor, yet how that belonging develops for transfer students is largely unknown. Here we used a mixed-methods design to explore the experiences of STEM transfer students at PSU (n=38). Participants completed a survey prior to participating in an interview. The survey and interviews explored their science identity, sense of belonging, and involvement in STEM-related activities. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and de-identified. We leveraged a framework: Core Elements of Sense of Belonging to iteratively code student interviews and identify overarching themes. Preliminary results reveal that engaging in multiple STEM programs facilitate a dosage effect that reflects their perspective on community; communal support through faculty and peers allows students to be more motivated to succeed. This research contributes to the literature on STEM transfer student belonging and can inform future programming and structures to better support these students to graduation.