ERIC Number: EJ1311357
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Sep
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1931-7913
EISSN: N/A
Transfer Student Experiences and Identity Navigation in STEM: Overlapping Figured Worlds of Success
Zuckerman, Austin L.; Lo, Stanley M.
CBE - Life Sciences Education, v20 n3 Article 48 Sep 2021
Community colleges are a pathway in higher education for many students, including students who are pursuing baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Because of the increased demand for professionals in the STEM workforce, a successful transition from community colleges to the university setting is essential for increasing the number of transfer students who complete STEM degree programs. Fostering a stabilized academic transition for transfer students requires an understanding of how different academic and sociocultural backgrounds can influence students' identity trajectories during their undergraduate education. In this study, Holland "et al."'s framework of figured worlds was used to examine how transfer students pursuing STEM degrees negotiated their identities in their transition to the university. Because identity is a complex construct that can influence student experiences in STEM, this study examined areas of compatible and incompatible expectations of what constitutes success across the university, community college, and high school learning environments, and among students, families, and faculty. Inconsistent expectations across these figured worlds provide insight into the challenges associated with the community college to university transition that can affect transfer students' experiences and identity production at the university.
Descriptors: College Transfer Students, Student Experience, Identification (Psychology), STEM Education, Community Colleges, Two Year College Students, Success, Student Attitudes, Influences, Expectation, Grades (Scholastic), First Generation College Students
American Society for Cell Biology. 8120 Woodmont Avenue Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. Tel: 301-347-9300; Fax: 301-347-9310; e-mail: ascbinfo@ascb.org; Website: http://www.ascb.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); National Eye Institute (NEI) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1355045; R25NS119707