The DOI matches its Crossref record; 54 of the 57 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Science That Matters: The Importance of a Cultural Connection in Underrepresented Students’ Science Pursuit
Open accessAbstract
Recent research suggests that underrepresented minority (URM) college students, and especially first-generation URMs, may lose motivation to persist if they see science careers as unable to fulfill culturally relevant career goals. In the present study, we used a mixed-methods approach to explore patterns of motivation to pursue physical and life sciences across ethnic groups of freshman college students, as moderated by generational status. Results from a longitudinal survey (N = 249) demonstrated that freshman URM students who enter with a greater belief that science can be used to help their communities identified as scientists more strongly over time, but only among first-generation college students. Analysis of the survey data were consistent with content analysis of 11 transcripts from simultaneously conducted focus groups (N = 67); together, these studies reveal important differences in motivational characteristics both across and within ethnicity across educational generation status. First-generation URM students held the strongest prosocial values for pursuing a science major (e.g., giving back to the community). URM students broadly reported additional motivation to increase the status of their family (e.g., fulfilling aspirations for a better life). These findings demonstrate the importance of culturally connected career motives and for examining intersectional identities to understand science education choices and inform efforts to broaden participation.
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“This grittiness may be based on differences in motivation, as students from MGS are more likely than students from non-MGS to be driven by a commitment to family and community (41–43).”
From Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (2020) · cites this paper as [42]
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“…that “under-represented minority college students”, including AI/AN students, may experience discontinuity between their tribal cultural value of prosocial goals, including strong family ties and giving back to their community (Jackson et al., 2016), and values associated with STEM careers.”
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“Question Categories 1) Academic self-concept [15] 2) Science motivation [16] Mathematics preparedness Same as above but adapted for mathematics Growth mindset 1) Help-Seeking assessment [17] 2) Concealment assessment [17] 3) Growth mindset assessment [18]–[20] Self-efficacy 1) Academic self-concept…”
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Zajic, C. J., & Dolan, E. L. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.05.13.724928
“This finding is consistent with the growing body of literature indicating that students opt out of science-related education and career paths not because of limited abilities but because of perceived misalignments with their values (Estrada et al., 2011; Jackson et al., 2016; Xia et al., 2024).”
Venkataraman, S., O’Connell, M., Ayedun, A. A., Aviles, A., Hajduk, A. M., Nguyen, M., Ogedegbe, G. G., Castillo-Page, L., Henderson, D. D., Richardson, J., et al. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0349227
“A striking finding was the altruistic motivation many URiM students described—viewing research as a mechanism to improve the health of vulnerable populations—which aligns with prior research [25,31,32].”
Metadata
- Authors
- Jackson, M. C., Galvez, G., Landa, I., Buonora, P., & Thoman, D. B.
- Affiliations
- California State University, Long Beach (US)
- San Diego State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Jackson, Matthew C.
- Venue
- CBE—Life Sciences Education
- Published
- 2016-09
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- ar42
- ISSN
- 1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5008889
- OpenAlex
- W2507640572
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 21.18
- 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)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1420271)
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T34GM008074, R25GM071638)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Career Development and Diversity
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Science Education and Perceptions
- Keywords
- underrepresented minority students, first-generation college students, cultural connections, prosocial values, ethnic differences, generational status, intersectional identities, broadening participation in STEM
- MeSH terms
- Family, Humans, Minority Groups, Surveys and Questionnaires, Science, Students, Focus Groups, Cultural Diversity
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