Potential Impact of a Short-duration (2 week) Internship on STEM Self Efficacy among First Generation College Students.
Abstract
Nationally, more than half of all college students who declare a major in STEM fields drop out or change their majors in the first two years of post-secondary education. Among first-generation college students (FGCS) this number may approach 70%. The literature reports several reasons: under-preparation in math, weak connections to other STEM students and a disconnect between retention interventions offered to freshmen and sophomores and students' STEM coursework. The literature also offers some potential solutions, and one of them — engagement in a STEM research community — is shown to increase student motivation to remain in STEM career pathways. However, many STEM research opportunities such as REU programs, tend to target older undergraduate students who have already successfully navigated their first two years in college. As a member of an NSF INCLUDES Alliance called the First2 Network, the Green Bank Observatory and other institutions have explored short duration internships for rising freshmen who are first generation students. This paper will share what we have learned about the potential of such internships to improve STEM students' self-efficacy, and persistence in STEM majors.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #235
- Pub Date:
- January 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AAS...23520201H