This qualitative descriptive study examined the process of purpose development of nine (seven females, two males; M[subscript age] = 20.2, age range 18-21 years) college students who completed interviews in fall 2017 and spring 2019 at a private university. Across the two time points, participants engaged in an iterative process that led them to…

This case study examined the opportunities for self-directed learning and the resulting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outcomes among participants in a STEM Girls program. The research questions guiding this analysis are as follows: (a) In what ways does the STEM Girls class provide participants with opportunities for…

This research explored ways in which educators can provide learners with differentiated instruction through student choice that provides engagement to positively interact with a student's reading identity. Throughout their learning journey, learners may have both positive and negative experiences with reading that directly affect their reading…

Transitions between educational levels have been identified as posing potential barriers for students' sense of belonging in science. In this paper, we focus on the transition from lower secondary to upper secondary school while foregrounding physics as a subject. We approach transitions as an ongoing negotiation-process of identities embedded…

Research consistently demonstrates that the quality of student-staff interactions matters for positive student outcomes. Some research studies also suggest that identity similarities (homophily) often contribute to meaningful human connections. Yet, the influence of student and staff identities on teaching and learning in higher education is less…

For students who face marginalization in a discipline, counterspaces are safe spaces of refuge that allow them to express their multiple identities and foster their sense of belonging. While prior qualitative work on counterspaces has highlighted how and why these spaces support marginalized students, there is little quantitative work that…

This study aimed (i) to investigate how epistemic cognition in physics and metacognition, together with three dimensions of physics identity framework--recognition, physics self-efficacy, and interest-- predicted the overall physics identity of Turkish high school students and also (ii) to investigate gender differences in study constructs. A…

How individuals come to perceive themselves in STEM is predicated on their understanding of what it means to be a member of the STEM community. This association is consequential when considering the perpetuation of white male ownership of STEM knowledge and power that forces learners identifying with groups systemically marginalized by racial and…

Background and Context: Few instruments exist to measure students' CS engagement and learning especially in areas where coding happens with creative, project-based learning and in regard to students' self-beliefs about computing. Objective: We introduce the CS Interests and Beliefs Inventory (CSIBI), an instrument designed for novice secondary…

The undergraduate college years are a critical time when students are beginning to think seriously about their career interests, and it is critical that students have a positive outlook for their mathematical learning if they are going to pursue math-related STEM majors. The current research with 748 undergraduate math students found that the more…

Scholarship suggests that science self-efficacy and science identity are associated with improved experiences and outcomes of postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students, especially those who are underrepresented within these fields. Yet, Southeast Asian students have largely been excluded from this scholarly…

This qualitative study delves into understanding how filial piety and bicultural identity factors contribute to why Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students transition in and out of a limited enrollment (or selective) major choice in Nursing. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that more than 80% of students at 4-year…

Despite the high demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professionals, the STEM talent pipeline continues to leak. A framework of STEM identity could provide insight into why and to what extent individuals engage in STEM-related activities. The present study describes the process of developing and validating an…

Introduction to Primary Literature (IPL) courses can be early-career precursors to undergraduate research experiences, whereby students can become familiar with potential mentors and their research toward better alignment with student/faculty interests and goals. IPL courses have been shown to increase student science self-efficacy and…

Purpose: Studies have shown that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers remain to be one of the areas where there is considerable job growth (Lacey & Wright, 2009; National Science Board, 2010; Singh et al., 2002). However, in many rural regions, science teachers still find it challenging to motivate adolescents to…