The relationship of science identity, science self-efficacy, and psychological sense of community to STEM graduate school entry among Meyerhoff Scholars

Abstract

Over the course of the last few decades, there has been a push to diversify the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the recruitment of underrepresented minorities (URM) to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in STEM. A body of research has demonstrated that graduates of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program (MSP), a multi-component, predominantly URM STEM intervention at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, are more likely to pursue STEM graduate study. However, the latent mechanisms of influence for the MSP and similar interventions warrant further study. To address the need for understanding these pathways of influence, the current study investigated the relation of science identity, science self-efficacy, and psychological sense of community with STEM graduate program entry, including mediational relations, and the potential moderation effect of gender on significant mediational relationships. Results demonstrated that, while there was some support for psychological sense of community being an important precursor to STEM graduate pursuit, science identity was the strongest predictor of STEM doctoral entry. Additionally, there was no support for gender as a moderator of significant mediational relations. Study implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.