Understanding the experiences, perceptions, and barriers of students is critical to address disparities and fostering equity, particularly in the rapidly growing domain of online education. This study explored these factors among undergraduate students from an online math program at a Midwestern University, focusing on factors influencing the…

This study sought to examine if students' self-perceptions of learning skills and abilities predict timely graduation at an elite university. The study investigated potential differences or disparities in specific student groups (i.e. underrepresented students, sex) with regard to these perceptions and assessed how these perceptions were related…

Substantial gender equity gaps in postsecondary degree completion persist within many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and these disparities have not narrowed during the 21st century. Various explanations of this phenomenon have been offered; one possibility that has received limited attention is that the…

Using data from 11 institutions, the authors investigate enrollments in intermediate microeconomics to determine characteristics of successful and unsuccessful students and follow the retake behavior of unsuccessful students. Successful students are significantly different from unsuccessful ones, and unsuccessful students differ by type…

A recent study in our research group found that social comparison concern (SCC) was a medium strength predictor of course grades while controlling for demographic factors and standardized test scores. Additionally, students belonging to underrepresented communities (women and Underrepresented ethnic minorities) had significantly higher SCC than…

There is a growing demand for online education; however, online programs yield consistently lower student retention rates and student success. Students in online programs are typically nontraditional students from underrepresented populations in higher education. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to determine whether…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational-predictive study was to analyze if and to what extent the underrepresented undergraduate STEM students' gender and perceptions of faculty leaders' mindset as growth or fixed predict their academic performance within a university in the Southwestern United States. The predictor variables…

For many, college is a period of transition, marked with acute stress, threats to success, and decreases in self-efficacy. For certain groups of students, the risk of these poor outcomes is elevated. In this study, 348 students from a large residential university in the western United States were surveyed to understand the role of psychological…

Three-dimensional virtual technology (3DVT) educational tools and peer-tutoring have proven to be effective teaching strategies in improving student learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) compare the anatomy academic performance between underrepresented minority (URM) and non-minority (non-URM) students, (2) compare the…

Native Americans are highly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers; however, little research exists concerning how to promote Native Americans' participation in STEM. In this study, we address this gap by examining variables hypothesized to promote participation using the career self-management (CSM) model…

Racial and ethnic achievement gaps contribute to the lack of underrepresented minorities in STEM-related careers. This research is grounded in the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation which posits that motivation is influenced by social-cognitive variables such as self-efficacy and beliefs about the usefulness or utility of the task.…

My study seeks to explore the extent that select secondary and postsecondary indicators predict STEM student enrollment and persistence particularly for Hispanic students. Identifying postsecondary STEM success and college readiness indicators with special focus on malleable indicators that can assist educators, administrators, and policymakers in…

Background/Context: Many states, school districts, and third-party platforms report measures of school performance. Such school ratings are widely consulted by parents and educators alike. The ratings appear to affect families' choices of where to live and where to enroll students (Bergman and Hill, 2018; Hasan and Kumar, 2019), as well as…

Forsyth County, North Carolina has the third lowest rate of upward economic mobility of any other county in the United States. One of the strongest correlates of upward mobility is the quality of schools in the local system. Using 2018 and 2017 NC Public School Report Card (SRC) data for Forsyth County elementary schools, I find that the annual…

For decades, researchers have examined the issues related to broadening the participation, retention, and success of individuals underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). However, there is very limited data on one group of underrepresented individuals--Black women--who over time have become an increasingly…