This quantitative non-experimental predictive correlational study aimed to explore the relationship between intent to persist, academic self-efficacy, and burnout among college first-year STEM students. The study is important since there are high dropouts of undergraduate college STEM students that cause vast gaps in the STEM labor market. This…

This study attempts to: (a) investigate whether positive and negative emotions mediate the pathways linking self-efficacy for learning programming with effort and persistence in undergraduates' learning Scratch programming combining with a programmable hardware platform (i.e., Arduino), and (b) assess the effect of academic major (i.e.,…

Understanding the predictor of learning achievement among college students is crucial to adopting the appropriate learning strategy. Academic buoyancy is one of the predictors of learning achievement, playing a vital role in helping students navigate academic setbacks and adversities. However, the previous studies failed to reveal a robust link…

Few studies have been completed on the persistence of certificate-seeking students attending American proprietary career colleges. Therefore, this study investigated variables predicting the persistence of certificate-seeking students at ABC Career Health College (a pseudonym), a Texas proprietary career institution. Data for the quantitative…

Enrollment in master level programs, particularly online, have been increasing nationwide. Students enrolled in online master's programs tend to be older and more ethnically diverse, and are likely to be balancing work, finances, and family responsibilities with their educational pursuits. These challenges have resulted in higher attrition rates…

Copious research on Social Cognitive Career Theory has found student self-efficacy substantially related to persistence in engineering programs. The present exploratory study investigated the associations among faculty encouragement (a specific type of verbal persuasion in college context) and students' self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and…

Data from the Healthy Mind Study were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analyses to determine the role of discriminatory experience in students' confidence in their ability to persist through graduation, controlling for age, extracurricular activity participation, housing, years in their degree program, and their sense of belonging.…

This quantitative non-experimental correlational study examined the associations among the predictor variables of first year, first semester nontraditional online learners' self-regulation, self-direction, and self-efficacy with the criterion variable of semester-to semester persistence. A nonprobability convenience sampling method was used to…

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…

Improving student success outcomes such as persistence and graduation rates remains a priority for higher education institutions, scholars, and advocates. Recent scholarly work argues for more qualitative work in this area to develop a deeper understanding of the issue and to identify more effective ways to increase college completion rates across…

Higher education retention research has taken on renewed importance in recent years with support for standardized entrance exams waning and student loan debts commanding social and political attention. Economic pressures have further exasperated college attrition and pushed researchers to better identify at-risk students before they experience…

This study investigated whether social identity (i.e., ethnic, science, or a combination of ethnic and science identities) and self-efficacy (i.e., general academic and science) predict academic persistence in STEM (i.e., graduating with a baccalaureate degree in a STEM or STEM-related discipline). The study drew on social cognitive theory (SCT,…

Earning poor grades in early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college courses decreases the likelihood that a student will major in STEM. However, grades in first-year STEM courses do not impact students evenly, making it hard to know if early "gatekeeping" courses selectively push some students out of STEM. This…

Earning poor grades in early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college courses decreases the likelihood that a student will major in STEM. However, grades in first-year STEM courses do not impact students evenly, making it hard to know if early "gatekeeping" courses selectively push some students out of STEM. This…

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to examine the role of self-efficacy in mathematics and mathematical mindset in effort regulation in mathematics. Effort regulation was defined as 'management of effort in learning activities in the face of difficulties'. Design: A large-scale survey (N=1448) with four cohorts of students in…