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This study explores STEM doctoral student agency with respect to funding as it relates to degree completion and career preparation. We interviewed 39 graduate students in chemistry, physics, and engineering at two large, public, research-intensive institutions in the USA. Although STEM doctoral students have a high expectation of full funding, instability of funding and unavailability of desired funding types limit the agency of some students. When several types of funding are available, advisors can encourage student agency in pursuing opportunities to gain skills or networking connections through teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or internships. However, students were not able to articulate specific ways that assistantships prepared them for nonacademic positions, which is an important direction for future work.

Contribution: This paper shows that identification with engineering for engineering graduate students is positively and significantly predicted by engineering interest, competence, recognition, and interpersonal skills competence. Background: Prior studies of engineering identity on undergraduates identified several factors (e.g., engineering interest and engineering recognition) as positive predictors of identification of engineering. Engineering competence, achieved by participating in design projects, is a crucial part of students' efforts to become more innovative engineers. Identity theory is used to understand undergraduates' persistence in engineering, as students with stronger engineering identification are more likely to persist. More work is needed focusing on graduate students. Research Questions: Do engineering identity measurement frameworks studied for undergraduate students also apply to graduate students? Do they correlate with intention to complete the degree? What predicts the engineering identity of engineering master's and doctoral students? Methodology: Interviews informed development and adaptation of a multi-scale survey instrument. Factor analyses identified four factors that relate to graduate engineering identity: 1) engineering interest; 2) engineering recognition; 3) engineering competence; and 4) interpersonal skills competence. Three sequential multiple linear regression models were used to predict engineering graduate students' engineering identity. Findings: The final regression model, which includes student characteristics and the four factors resulting from confirmatory factor analysis, predicts 60% of the variance in engineering identity--substantially more than similar undergraduate engineering identity models. All four factors were significant and positive predictors of graduate students' engineering identity. The engineering recognition factor in particular needed adaptation to emphasize peers and faculty members over family, although family remained important.

Contribution: This paper explores the factors contributing to the development of engineering identity in Latinx students at two institutions. A better understanding of these factors will support the development of more inclusive engineering education environments and experiences. Background: Persistence of Latinx engineering students is of particular interest due to their underrepresentation in the field. Identity is a lens for understanding student persistence, but Latinx students are underrepresented in prior engineering identity studies. This paper seeks to identify the unique factors, academic and professional, that contribute to engineering identity development, and potential means for supporting the persistence of Latinx engineers. Research Questions: 1) What academic and professional affect factors predict engineering identity development of Latinx students? and 2) What role does the institution play in Latinx students' engineering identity development? Methodology: A mixed-methods approach was used to measure engineering identity based on a framework incorporating both academic and professional affect elements. Regression analyses were conducted on 892 responses to an online survey from Latinx engineering students, with additional insight from interviews with ten Latinx engineering students. Findings: Six of the nine factors analyzed (performance/competence, interest, recognition, analysis, framing and solving problems, and tinkering) were significant predictors of Latinx students' engineering identity, as were institution, gender, and having a parent with an engineering degree. Engineering identity was higher for Latinx students at the Hispanic Serving Institution, but none of the interaction terms were significant, so the relationship between these factors and engineering identity is similar at each institution.

Numerous national reports have identified the importance of significantly improving pathways that begin with Latinx students enrolling in 2-year institutions and ultimately completing baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields at 4-year institutions. Many programs using multiple interventions have been designed, implemented, and studied to achieve this goal. To synthesize what has been learned from studies of these programs, this article presents a systematic review of published studies of programs designed to support Latinx student success in 2-year institutions and successful transfer to 4-year institutions, particularly for STEM majors. A total of 49 quantitative, 9 qualitative, and 16 mixed-methods studies published as reports, articles, or dissertations since 1980 were identified that met the criteria for the review. Studies covered a wide range of interventions, including mentoring, counseling, advising, study groups, tutoring, scholarships, orientations, career services, undergraduate research, articulation agreements, and transfer programs. Individually, these studies report positive influences on student success outcomes, including 2- and 4-year graduation, transfer to a 4-year institution, retention, and success in individual courses. However, the number of qualifying studies was surprisingly small, considering the importance of improving success of Latinx students and the length of time during which the problem has been repeatedly emphasized. Few interventions have been undertaken from explicitly assets-based perspectives or theoretical frameworks. The lack of explicit frameworks underlying interventions--combined with a sole/primary focus on students--suggests many interventions were approached from a deficit-based perspective. Further, the study found no pattern of replication studies that might confirm effectiveness of potentially promising interventions. Based on our analysis of evaluations presented in the studies, it does not appear that the research community has developed agreed-upon methods to evaluate commonly agreed-upon outcomes. Finally, no intervention has been sufficiently supported that widespread implementation could be recommended.

Given the prevalence of group project assignments in college coursework, it is surprising that the extensive literature on achievement goal orientations has rarely included students' experiences during an assigned group project, especially when group conflict among group members is reported. Data came from online responses of 660 undergraduates (394 women; from all schools/colleges; all levels but 46% seniors; nearly half white/Caucasian but 22% of Asian and 13% Latin background). Multivariate multiple regression analysis was used to predict three outcomes (students' project commitment, positive emotions, and negative emotions), testing as predictors students' motivational goals, at both individual and group levels (Models 1 and 2), as well as their perceptions of intragroup conflict (Model 3). Fit tests of the multivariate regressions indicated that adding a measure of intragroup conflict to students' individual and group motivational goals significantly improved the prediction of project commitment and negative (but not positive) emotions.

This study explores STEM doctoral student agency with respect to funding as it relates to degree completion and career preparation. We interviewed 39 graduate students in chemistry, physics, and engineering at two large, public, research-intensive institutions in the USA. Although STEM doctoral students have a high expectation of full funding, instability of funding and unavailability of desired funding types limit the agency of some students. When several types of funding are available, advisors can encourage student agency in pursuing opportunities to gain skills or networking connections through teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or internships. However, students were not able to articulate specific ways that assistantships prepared them for nonacademic positions, which is an important direction for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous national reports have identified the importance of significantly improving pathways that begin with Latinx students enrolling in 2‐year institutions and ultimately completing baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields at 4‐year institutions. Many programs using multiple interventions have been designed, implemented, and studied to achieve this goal. To synthesize what has been learned from studies of these programs, this article presents a systematic review of published studies of programs designed to support Latinx student success in 2‐year institutions and successful transfer to 4‐year institutions, particularly for STEM majors. A total of 49 quantitative, 9 qualitative, and 16 mixed‐methods studies published as reports, articles, or dissertations since 1980 were identified that met the criteria for the review. Studies covered a wide range of interventions, including mentoring, counseling, advising, study groups, tutoring, scholarships, orientations, career services, undergraduate research, articulation agreements, and transfer programs. Individually, these studies report positive influences on student success outcomes, including 2‐ and 4‐year graduation, transfer to a 4‐year institution, retention, and success in individual courses. However, the number of qualifying studies was surprisingly small, considering the importance of improving success of Latinx students and the length of time during which the problem has been repeatedly emphasized. Few interventions have been undertaken from explicitly assets‐based perspectives or theoretical frameworks. The lack of explicit frameworks underlying interventions—combined with a sole/primary focus on students—suggests many interventions were approached from a deficit‐based perspective. Further, the study found no pattern of replication studies that might confirm effectiveness of potentially promising interventions. Based on our analysis of evaluations presented in the studies, it does not appear that the research community has developed agreed‐upon methods to evaluate commonly agreed‐upon outcomes. Finally, no intervention has been sufficiently supported that widespread implementation could be recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]