This study reports on the development and validation of a new construct of application orientation (AO), which we defined as a vocational orientation concerning the interest for certain principles, values, and activities that are common for university graduates working in applied (i.e., industrial) fields. Using a multi-study program with…

Purpose: The skillsets of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates are widely recognised to be important for economic prosperity. At the same time, it is broadly accepted that in England there is a need to increase the number of people studying STEM degree courses and working in STEM. However, despite decades of…

The under-representation of women in male-dominated STEM fields is a worldwide concern. However, there are other academic fields, like some non-STEM degrees, where female students are over-represented. Previous research has identified five critical factors influencing student participation rates: career choice, satisfaction, self-esteem,…

Using a mixed-method approach, researchers examined college instructors' use of a virtual lab simulation library, Labster, students' perceptions of the simulations on their learning and future STEM plans, as well as data from the library to explore patterns of lab use and quiz scores. A detailed look at Contemporary Biology I and Biology II quiz…

Recent studies and media articles draw attention to gender imbalances in the music industry, both locally in Australia and globally. In Australia, there have been calls to overhaul tertiary music programmes to support and encourage female students into careers such as sound production, screen composition and contemporary music performance, where…

Middle school Black girls in the Chicagoland area encounter challenges when engaging in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) learning and developing individual STEM identities. Black girls with good grades in STEM courses are reluctant to pursue STEM careers because of the negative stereotypes they face in school (King & Pringle,…

This study examined communal goal mismatch among a large sample of White and LatinX STEM students. Drawing on goal congruity and the cultural mismatch theories, we created a mismatch score, the difference between student perceptions of communal opportunities afforded in STEM and their personal endorsement. We hypothesized that LatinX STEM majors…

Labour market trends and the economic impacts of COVID-19 are elevating the importance of knowledge as a factor of production whilst concurrently eroding traditional forms of employment. Mindful of the implications for higher education, this study approached employability development as 'the ability to find, create and sustain meaningful work…

In the last few years, several initiatives based on extracurricular activities have been organized in many countries around the world, with the aim to reduce the digital gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields. Among them, the Digital Girls summer camp, organized every year since 2014 by two Italian universities with the…

This study examines the efficacy of a novel college sustainability course in promoting relevant environmental knowledge and interest in careers related to environmental aspects within the Taiwanese educational context. The core content of the course covers the essential concepts of sustainability and introduces students to environmental issues and…

This study examined longitudinal education and career outcomes of the Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership, the longest-running National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Partnerships in Advancing Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) program site in the United States. Degree completion rates were calculated and progression…

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of participation in college-run STEM career days on American high school students' STEM career aspirations. Data were collected from a nationwide retrospective cohort survey of 15,847 U.S. college students who provided information about their experiences during high school. Accounting for…

This study investigated why university students choose to major in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine/health (STEM(M)) disciplines, and how their study and career-related confidence compares with that of their peers. The study engaged 12,576 students enrolled at Australian universities. The findings suggest that STEM(M)…

We expand on prior qualitative research about mathematics identity development using data from a large national US survey of 10,437 students in 336 college calculus classes. Multinomial logistic regression models find that a stronger mathematics identity predicts higher student interest in pursuing certain STEM careers when compared with non-STEM…

Drawing on the narrative inquiry of 32 in-depth interviews with parents of sons who study in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields in tertiary education, we described the multi-dimensional picture of intergenerational mobility and reproduction derived from the Big Class, Microclass, and Cultural Mobility Models. We…