dc.contributor.advisor | Capraro, Robert M | |
dc.creator | Vela, Katherine Nicole | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2021-02-04T17:19:52Z | |
dc.date.available | 2022-08-01T06:53:48Z | |
dc.date.created | 2020-08 | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-06-24 | |
dc.date.submitted | August 2020 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/192381 | |
dc.description.abstract | The focus for this dissertation was on empowering female students to pursue
STEM fields. The first study in this dissertation was a content analysis which allowed
the researcher to explore the various definitions and surveys used to measure
psychological dispositions toward STEM fields to determine a clear definition for each
factor. The next two studies used quantitative data from two STEM surveys to
investigate whether students’ perceptions or self-efficacies were influenced after
attending a STEM summer camp. The second study compared female students in two
conditions (an all-female and co-educational camp) in order to examine how female
students’ perceptions were affected by their environment and if these perceptions were
correlated to their perception of STEM careers. The third study analyzed participants
within the all-female camp to determine if self-efficacy toward STEM fields influenced
perceptions of STEM fields and if engagement in an all-female camp had a greater
impact for students with lower predispositions toward STEM.
Results from the first study revealed insights into how prior researchers defined
and assessed psychological dispositions. These results indicated authors of the selected
studies generally opted to offer the definition of the disposition by describing the
instrument or providing sample items. The second study’s results revealed that female
students in the all-female camp experienced a significant increase in their positive
perceptions toward science (t=3.568, p<0.001) and there was a strong correlation
between STEM perceptions and perceptions of a STEM career. The third study’s findings indicated a significant relationship between female students’ initial self-efficacy
and perceptions of STEM fields (p<0.05). Furthermore, results indicated a statistically
significant increase (p<0.05) in mathematics perceptions for the below-average group
and science perceptions for the average group.
Overall, results from this dissertation study yielded that engagement in a STEM
summer camp was conducive for empowering female students to pursue STEM fields by
positively improving their self-efficacies and perceptions toward STEM fields. The
findings of this dissertation are important because increasing the number of female
students pursuing STEM pathways is needed to close the gender gap in STEM fields and
fill the need for a diverse STEM workforce in expanding STEM industries. | en |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.subject | STEM education | en |
dc.subject | female students | en |
dc.subject | psychological dispositions | en |
dc.subject | gender gap | en |
dc.title | Empow"her"ing Female Students to Pursue STEM Fields | en |
dc.type | Thesis | en |
thesis.degree.department | Teaching, Learning, and Culture | en |
thesis.degree.discipline | Curriculum and Instruction | en |
thesis.degree.grantor | Texas A&M University | en |
thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy | en |
thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | en |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Barroso, Luciana R | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Burlbaw, Lynn M | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Capraro, Mary M | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Young, Jamaal | |
dc.type.material | text | en |
dc.date.updated | 2021-02-04T17:19:53Z | |
local.embargo.terms | 2022-08-01 | |
local.etdauthor.orcid | 0000-0002-1091-6384 | |