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ERIC Number: EJ1271732
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-1546
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Importance of Community Colleges in Students' Choice to Major in STEM
Journal of Higher Education, v91 n7 p1116-1148 2020
This article investigates whether attending a community college is related to an increase in the number of students majoring and graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at four-year colleges. We follow a longitudinal sample of students in North Carolina from middle school through college graduation, including some who attended a community college. Our multilevel models indicate that for our sample of students, who attended a four-year institution and declared a major within 6 years of high school graduation, ever attending a community college and/or starting post-secondary education at a community college have a significant positive relationship with their likelihood of declaring and graduating with a STEM major. Results hold true even after controlling for sample self-selection through propensity score matching techniques. Our findings also show that the benefits of community college attendance on students' likelihood of declaring and graduating with a STEM major are not restricted to only low-SES students. Overall, this study supports the notion that two-year colleges could work as means of helping push students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds into STEM.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1420363
Author Affiliations: N/A