Background and Context: As computing fields aim to both expand and diversify, narrowing representation gaps in undergraduate computing majors requires focus on retaining women and racially/ethnically minoritized students to the point of degree attainment. Objective: This study addresses the factors that contribute to persistence in computing…

What can we learn by considering differences in women across STEM fields? Following a discussion of theoretical perspectives on disciplinary classification and a review of literature on women across STEM, this chapter uses nationwide survey data to highlight the unique nature of women intending to major in biological science, computer science,…

Using hierarchical linear modeling, this study examined how positive faculty support is associated with mathematical self-concept development among students in STEM fields and how the association differs for male and female students. The study utilized data from the 2003 Freshman Survey and the 2007 College Senior Survey (CSS) and a sample of 2184…

In this paper we examine the level and determinants of entering college students' plans to major in engineering. While the overall level of interest in engineering has fluctuated between 1971 and 2011, a very large gender gap in freshman interest remains. We find that the percent of first-year women who plan to major in engineering is roughly the…

Given growing interest in computing fields, as well as a longstanding gender gap in computer science, this study used nationwide survey data on college students during 4 decades to: (a) document trends in aspirations to major in computer science among undergraduate women and men; (b) explore the characteristics of women and men who choose to major…

The dearth of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields has been lamented by scholars, administrators, policymakers, and the general public for decades, and the STEM gender gap is particularly pronounced in physics. While previous research has demonstrated that this gap is largely attributable to a lack of women pursuing…

Using cross-classified multilevel modeling, this study attempted to improve our understanding of the group-level conditional effects of student-faculty interaction by examining the function of academic majors in explaining the effects of student-faculty interaction on students' academic self-concept. The study utilized data on 11,202…

Despite the current growing popularity of the computer science (CS) major, women remain sorely underrepresented in the field, continuing to earn only 18% of bachelor's degrees. Understanding women's low rates of participation in CS is important given that the demand for individuals with CS training has grown sharply in recent years. Attracting and…

Math self-concept (MSC) is considered an important predictor of the pursuit of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Women's underrepresentation in the STEM fields is often attributed to their consistently lower ratings on MSC relative to men. Research in this area typically considers STEM in the aggregate and does not account…

Using multilevel models, this study examined "whether" and "why" the strength of association between student-faculty interaction and student cognitive skills development varies across academic majors. The study utilized data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) and a sample of 43,014…

The U.S. federal government identifies many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors as "areas of national need" that are "crucial to national innovation, competitiveness, and well-being and in which not enough students complete degrees." Underrepresentation of women in STEM in the United States has economic…

Examines factors related to changes in mathematical self-concept during college. Focuses specifically on how these factors differ by gender and major field. Results indicate that traditional predictors of math confidence operate by gender. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

A study examined the relationship between the proportion of women in a college major and students' grades, academic self-concept, mathematical self-concept, social self-concept, satisfaction with the major, and persistence in the major. Subjects were 7,641 women and 5,074 men in 344 4-year colleges. Results suggest no effects on student cognitive…

This study examined factors predicting the enrollment of men and women in science, math, and engineering (SME) graduate programs among those who had earned SME Bachelor's degrees. The data, which covered a 9-year period: 1985, 1989 (4-year follow-up), and 1994 (9-year follow-up), was drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research program, a…

While previous research has outlined factors that can be used to predict academic self-concept among college students, much of this research pays little attention to how self-concept develops differently for unique subgroups of students. This paper examines the development of mathematical self-concept during college for four groups of students who…