Increasing STEM Persistence of Minority Students Through Entrepreneurial Thinking Experiences

Abstract

The current challenges in producing and retaining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent in the United States to meet workforce demands are well documented in several national reports. For instance, of the college entrants who begin STEM degree programs initially, 48% leave STEM prior to earning an undergraduate degree; nearly half of these by changing to non-STEM majors and the other half of these by leaving college without completing any degree or certificate. This departure rate is even higher for individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM. Concurrent with examinations of why students fail to persist in college have been the development of programs and strategies aimed at addressing obstacles to persistence and at increasing the number of students earning degrees in STEM. An NSF-funded project at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) implemented Entrepreneurship in Science Education as a strategy to attract and hold students’ interest and academic pursuit of STEM through entrepreneurial thinking and training. The focus of study is to assess the science mastery skills gained by students due to their participation in the Project and to investigate the specific contributions to the STEM student outcomes due to the unique entrepreneurial training component of the project. Nineteen (19) participants in the Project experienced the entrepreneurial thinking training, and 19 Non-participants identified as comparable through the propensity score matching process. Entrepreneurial thinking was assessed on participants through measures of Entrepreneurial Skills, Managerial Skills, Personal Traits and Technical Skills. Persistence measures were compared between participants and the matched comparison group. We will present results that show students participating in the engineering design and entrepreneurial training component of the Project significantly improved their science mastery skills, and this contributed to outstanding STEM student outcomes as measured by persistence. The Project was particularly effective with respect to STEM persistence for students who would be categorize as “at-risk,” specifically low SES, first-generation college students from single-parent homes. Speaker bio:Dr. Caesar Jackson is professor of physics at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). He previously served as dean for School of Graduate Studies, College of Science & Technology, and College of Arts & Sciences. He served 3 years at National Science Foundation in program director and division director roles. His degrees are Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Electrical Engineering (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University), Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering (University of Florida), and Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (North Carolina State University). Over the years, he has been engaged in nuclear physics research at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory in Durham, NC and at Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory in Newport News, VA. Currently, he conducts science education research on issues associated with increasing the number of minorities pursuing degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). His current work investigates cognitive and non-cognitive factors that influence student’s academic performance in STEM at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Specific studies include: (a) investigating the relationship between self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic achievement of African American undergraduate students in STEM courses at an HBCU; (b) investigating the relationship between science identity and academic achievement of African American undergraduate students in STEM degree program at an HBCU; (c) investigating the impact of active-learning instructional approaches on student learning in STEM courses at an HBCU.