UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
Start | FAQ | About
Menu Icon

QR Code Link :

Type :article
Subject :Q Science (General)
ISSN :2180-3463
Main Author :Ahmad Muslihin Ahmad
Title :Persistence and attrition in STEM majors for a career choice
Place of Production :Tanjung Malim
Publisher :Fakulti Sains dan Matematik
Year of Publication :2023
Notes :Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education
Corporate Name :Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
HTTP Link :Click to view web link

Abstract : Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
STEM fields are viewed as being important for global economic development, as well as for the well-being of society. Many factors, including knowledge of future pay and other occupational insights, influence university major selection. This paper reports the findings from an empirical study of diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate on the relationship between gender equality and university support with students views on STEM careers, as well as their persistence and attrition in STEM majors. The findings from PLS-SEM analysis shows that gender equality did positively affect students views on STEM careers and students persistence in STEM majors. It was also found that gender equality did not affect students attrition. In contrast, the university support did not positively affect students views on STEM careers and students attrition in STEM majors. However, university support was found to positively affect students persistence in STEM majors. The implications of the findings are that the university can channel its support systems in nurturing the students skills and knowledge by providing physical and psychosocial support for the students to persist in STEM majors. Hence, encouraging more students to opt for STEM majors is necessary to enhance the global economy so that it can contribute to the well-being not just of the STEM graduates, but the society and nation as well. Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2023.

References

Alkhasawneh, R., & Hargraves, R. H. (2014). Developing a hybrid model to predict student first year retention in STEM disciplines using machine learning techniques. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 15(3), 35–42.

Arcidiacono, P., Hotz, V. J., & Kang, S. (2012). Modeling college major choices using elicited measures of expectations and counterfactuals. Journal of Econometrics, 166(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2011.06.002

Atkins, K., Dougan, B. M., Sermen, M. S. D., Potter, H., Sathy, V., & Panter, A. T. (2020). Looking at myself in the future: How mentoring shapes scientific identity for STEM students from underrepresented groups. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(42), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00242-3

Australian Government. (2020). STEM equity monitor: Summary report 2020, 12. Retrieved from www.industry.gov.au/ Baron, L. (2015). An authentic task that models quadratics. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 20(6), 335–340. https://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.20.6.0334

Blackburn, H. (2017). The status of women in STEM in higher education: A review of the literature 2007–2017. Science & Technology Libraries, 36(3), 235–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/0194262X.2017.1371658

Bosman, L., Chelberg, K., & Winn, R. (2017). How does service-learning increase and sustain interest in engineering education for underrepresented pre-engineering college students? Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 18(2), 5–9.

Carlisle, D. L., & Weaver, G. C. (2018). STEM education centers: Catalyzing the improvement of undergraduate STEM education. International Journal of STEM Education, 5(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0143-2

Charles, M. (2017). Venus, Mars, and math: Gender, societal affluence, and eighth graders’ aspirations for STEM. Socius, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023117697179

Des Jardins, J. (2010). The madame curie complex: The hidden history of women in science. New York: CUNY Press.

Cech, E. A., & Blair-Loy, M. (2019). The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10), 4182–4187. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810862116

Chen, X. (2015). STEM attrition among high-performing college students: Scope and potential causes. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 5(1), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.136

Chen, X., & Soldner, M. (2013). STEM attrition: College students’ path into and out of STEM fields: A statistical analysis report. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2014–001.

Chen, D., & Kelly, H. (2013). Understanding the leaky STEM pipeline by taking a close look at factors influencing retention and graduation rates. Paper presented at the 40th Annual Conference of the Northeast Association for Institutional Research.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dasgupta, N., & Stout, J. G. (2014). Girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: STEMing the tide and broadening participation in STEM careers. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732214549471

Deming, D. J., & Noray, K. L. (2018). STEM careers and technological change. NBER Working Paper Series, 25065(September).

Dorie, B. L., Jones, T. R., Pollock, M. C., & Cardella, M. (2014). Parents as critical influence: Insights from five different studies. School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series. Paper 55. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/enegs/55

Eccles, J. S. (1994). Understanding women’s educational and occupational choices: Applying the Eccles et al. model of achievement-related choices. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(4), 585–609. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb01049.x

Eccles, J. S., & Wang, M. T. (2016). What motivates females and males to pursue careers in mathematics and science? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 40(2), 100–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025415616201

Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., Flanagan, C., & Mac Iver, D. (1997). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage–environment fit on young adolescents’ experiences in schools and in families (1993). In J. M. Notterman (Ed.), The evolution of psychology: Fifty years of the American psychologist (pp. 475–501). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10254-034

Elliott, K. M., & Shin, D. (2002). Student satisfaction: An alternative approach to assessing this important concept. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 24(2), 197–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080022000013518

Emerson. (2019). Emerson global STEM survey. Emerson. Retrieved from https://www.emerson.com/en-us/news/corporate/global-stem-survey-shows-growing-interestin-careers-lack-of

Gomez Soler, S. C., Abadía Alvarado, L. K., & Bernal Nisperuza, G. L. (2020). Women in STEM: Does college boost their performance? Higher Education, 79(5), 849–866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00441-0

Graham, M. J., Frederick, J., Byars-Winston, A., Hunter, A.-B., & Handelsman, J. (2013). Increasing persistence of college students in STEM. Science, 341(6153), 1455–1456. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1240487

Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). European Business Review, 26, 106–121. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2013-0128

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Halim, L., Abd Rahman, N., Wahab, N., & Mohtar, L. E. (2018). Factors influencing interest in STEM careers: An exploratory factor analysis. In Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching (Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 1–34). The Education University of Hong Kong, Department of Science and Environmental Studies.

Hanson, G. H., & Slaughter, M. J. (2016). High-skilled immigration and the rise of STEM occupations in U.S. employment. NBER working paper no. 22623. https://doi.org/10.3386/w22623

Haron, H. N., Kamaruddin, S. A., Harun, H., Abas, H., & Salim, K. R. (2019). Science, technology, engineering and mathematics initiatives at rural schools and its impact on learning motivation. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1174(1), 012002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1174/1/012002

Hitka, M., Kozubikova, L., & Potkany, M. (2018). Education and gender-based differences in employee motivation. Journal of Business Economics & Management, 19(1), 80–95. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1413009

Huang, J., Gates, A. J., Sinatra, R., & Barabási, A. L. (2020). Historical comparison of gender inequality in scientific careers across countries and disciplines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(9), 4609–4616. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914221117

Ikuma, L. H., Steele, A., & Dan, S. (2019). Large-scale student programs increase persistence in STEM fields in a public university setting. Journal of Engineering Education, 108(3), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20244

Ingersoll, R. M., & Perda, D. (2010). Is the supply of mathematics and science teachers sufficient? American Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 563–594. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831210370711

Kaleva, S., Pursiainen, J., Hakola, M., Rusanen, J., & Muukkonen, H. (2019). Students’ reasons for STEM choices and the relationship of mathematics choice to university admission. International Journal of


This material may be protected under Copyright Act which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials.
You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research.

Back to previous page

Installed and configured by Bahagian Automasi, Perpustakaan Tuanku Bainun, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
If you have enquiries, kindly contact us at pustakasys@upsi.edu.my or 016-3630263. Office hours only.