Browsing by Author "Beason, Tiffany S."
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Outcomes and Processes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program: STEM PhD Completion, Sense of Community, Perceived Program Benefit, Science Identity, and Research Self-Efficacy(The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), 2017-10-13) Maton, Kenneth I.; Beason, Tiffany S.; Godsay, Surbhi; Domingo, Mariano R. Sto.; Bailey, TaShara C.; Sun, Shuyan; Hrabowski III, Freeman A.Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is an effective intervention for high-achieving underrepresented minority (URM) students; African-American Meyerhoff students are significantly more likely to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD programs than comparison students. The first of two studies in this report extends the prior research by examining levels of PhD completion for Meyerhoff (N = 479) versus comparison sample (N = 249) students among the first 16 cohorts. Entering African-American Meyerhoff students were 4.8 times more likely to complete STEM PhDs than comparison sample students. To enhance understanding of potential mechanisms of influence, the second study used data from the 22nd (Fall 2010) to 25th (Fall 2013) cohorts (N = 109) to test the hypothesis that perceived program benefit at the end of freshman year would mediate the relationship between sense of community at the end of Summer Bridge and science identity and research self-efficacy at the end of sophomore year. Study 2 results indicated that perceived program benefit fully mediated the relationship between sense of community and both criterion measures. The findings underscore the potential of comprehensive STEM intervention programs to enhance PhD completion, and suggest mechanisms of influence.Item The Relation of Racial/Ethnic Identity and Sense of Community to Depression Symptoms, Research Self-Efficacy, and Science Identity among Undergraduate STEM Scholars(2018-01-01) Beason, Tiffany S.; Maton, Kenneth; Psychology; Human ServicesPrevious research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program (MSP) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is effective at increasing the number of underrepresented minorities (URM) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While it is clear that comprehensive STEM programs, like the MSP, contribute to URM success in STEM, less is known about what mechanisms underlie program effectiveness, and which students are most likely to benefit from STEM interventions. As such, the current study explored how an important mechanism of influence in the MSP and a personal resource to students relate to psychological and academic adjustment. More specifically, psychological sense of community was examined as a mediator on the theorized relation between racial/ethnic identity (REI; e.g., high racial centrality and regard) and depression symptoms, research self-efficacy and science identity. Interactions between dimensions of REI (e.g., racial centrality, private racial regard, and public racial regard) were examined in their relation to these outcomes as well. Results demonstrated that there was no support for mediation or moderation as hypothesized. However, stronger racial/ethnic identity predicted stronger psychological sense of community within the MSP during summer bridge. Furthermore, students who reported stronger sense of community also experienced higher research self-efficacy and science identity at the end of their first year in college. The implications of the findings as well as the study limitations are discussed.