Sandi Simpkins, Ph.D. Do Families Matter for Adolescents’ Pursuit of STEM?
An Introduction
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Diversity: Immigration Social class Race/ethnicity Culture
Positive Youth Development Perspective 5 Choices in OST & STEM during middle childhood and adolescence matter
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: Special Report NSF Arlington, VA. Available at Science & Engineering Occupations: 2013
The STEM Pipeline and Science Enrollment 8 Sources: Pew Center for Research; National Science Board (NSF), National Center for Educational Statistics
The STEM Pipeline and Science Enrollment 9 Sources: Pew Center for Research; National Science Board (NSF), National Center for Educational Statistics
The STEM Pipeline and Science Enrollment 10 Sources: Pew Center for Research; National Science Board (NSF), National Center for Educational Statistics
WHY DO SOME WOMEN AND LATINOS SUCCEED WHEREAS OTHERS DON’T?
“I can but I don’t want to” Self- Concept of Ability Value STEM Achievemen t & choices
Family Self- Concept of Ability Value STEM Achievement & choices Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Model:
A Brief Glimpse at Two STEM Studies 14
Parents and Math in Elementary School 15
Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Model 16 Adolescents’ Choices Parents’ Beliefs Parents’ Behaviors Children’s Beliefs Eccles et al., 1993
Results: Fathers in Math 17 Adolescents’ HS Math Courses Parents’ Beliefs (1 st, 2 nd, 4 th ) Parents’ Behaviors (2 nd, 3 rd, 5 th ) Children’s Beliefs (3 rd, 4 th, & 6 th ) (7 th, 8 th, & 10 th ) Fathers: + Mothers: ns Fathers: + Mothers: ns +
Does Parents’ Science Behavior Matter for High School Latino and White Students? 18
Group Differences Social class explained a lot Latina girls had lower self- concepts in all science domains BUT….. The correlates were similar
Parent Behaviors and Motivation Families are important What parents do is related to their high school students’ motivation It matters for Girls and boys Caucasians and Latinos
Sandi Simpkins, Ph.D. Do Families Matter for Adolescents’ Pursuit of STEM?
8 TH GRADE SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT FOR HISPANICS: 2011 U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2011 Science Assessment. Above Average Average Below Average