Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM
Open accessAbstract
Members of the Joint Working Group on Improving Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)—convened by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute—review current data and propose deliberation about why the academic “pathways” leak more for URM than white or Asian STEM students. They suggest expanding to include a stronger focus on the institutional barriers that need to be removed and the types of interventions that “lift” students’ interests, commitment, and ability to persist in STEM fields. Using Kurt Lewin’s planned approach to change, the committee describes five recommendations to increase URM persistence in STEM at the undergraduate level. These recommendations capitalize on known successes, recognize the need for accountability, and are framed to facilitate greater progress in the future. The impact of these recommendations rests upon enacting the first recommendation: to track successes and failures at the institutional level and collect data that help explain the existing trends.
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Cites
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- Authors
- Estrada, M., Burnett, M., Campbell, A. G., Campbell, P. B., Denetclaw, W. F., Gutiérrez, C. G., Hurtado, S., John, G. H., Matsui, J., McGee, R., Okpodu, C. M., Robinson, T. J., Summers, M. F., Werner-Washburne, M., & Zavala, M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Spelman College (US)
- Brown University (US)
- Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc., Groton, MA 01450
- San Francisco State University (US)
- California State University Los Angeles (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Oklahoma State University (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Northwestern University (US)
- Norfolk State University (US)
- Morgan State University (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- University of New Mexico (US)
- California State University, Northridge (US)
- Corresponding author
- Estrada, Mica
- ORCID
- Venue
- CBE—Life Sciences Education
- Published
- 2016-09
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- es5
- ISSN
- 1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5008901
- OpenAlex
- W2510630383
- Cited by
- 793
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 72 · 2025: 76 · 2024: 107 · 2023: 94 · 2022: 106 · 2021: 133 · 2020: 100 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 75.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- CBE—Life Sciences Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- John Spoor Broome Library Institutional Repository (California State University) (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- California State University ScholarWorks (system-wide DSpace) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM071968, T34GM008395, R25GM063787)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Career Development and Diversity
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
- Keywords
- underrepresented minority students, STEM persistence, undergraduate STEM education, institutional barriers, student retention, academic pathways, institutional accountability, diversity in science
- MeSH terms
- Curriculum, Engineering, Humans, Mathematics, Minority Groups, Science, Students, Technology, Models, Educational, Problem-Based Learning
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