Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Struggle to Belong and Thrive

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Talking about Leaving Revisited

Abstract

Academic struggles played a role in the majority of students’ decision to switch out of STEM. They also undermined students’ belief that they had made the right choice in pursuing a STEM major and could succeed in earning a STEM degree. As described in Chap. 7, academic problems were particularly acute for students in gateway courses, but they were not confined to courses taught by “weed out” methods. They could also manifest as difficulties with STEM curricula or as conceptual problems at any point in students’ trajectories. Common problems included encountering STEM content that was “hard”—whether intrinsically or situationally. They also arose as students sought to demonstrate their conceptual understanding in assessments, and could be reflected in the grades and GPA that they earned. These struggles challenged students’ views of their competence and caused them to doubt that they “belonged” in a STEM program. A student’s sense of belonging in a STEM discipline was also shaped by classroom and program climates, most especially by interactions with instructors and peers. This chapter reviews findings about how STEM students experienced these struggles to thrive academically and to develop a sense of belonging. It also highlights particular risks that differentiate switchers from persisters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aronson, J., Fried, C. B., & Good, C. (2002). Reducing the effects of stereotype threat on african american college students by shaping theories of intelligence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(2), 113–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bean, J. P. (1980). Dropouts and turnover: The synthesis and test of a causal model of student attrition. Research in Higher Education, 12(2), 155–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benbow, R. J., & Vivyan, E. (2016). Gender and belonging in undergraduate computer science: A comparative case study of student experiences in gateway courses (WCER Working Paper No. 2016-2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, J. B., & Lyon, S. C. (2005). Past to present: A historical look at retention. In A. Seidman (Ed.), College student retention: Formula for student success (pp. 1–30). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonous-Hammarth, M. (2000). Pathways to success: Affirming opportunities for science, mathematics, and engineering majors. The Journal of Negro Education, 69(1/2), 92–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, E. R., Thoman, D. B., Smith, J. L., & Diekman, A. B. (2015). Closing the communal gap: The importance of communal affordances in science career motivation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 45(12), 662–673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cech, E., Rubineau, B., Silbey, S., & Seron, C. (2011). Professional role confidence and gendered persistence in engineering. American Sociological Review, 76(5), 641–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cech, E. A. (2014). Culture of disengagement in engineering education? Science, Technology, & Human Values, 39(1), 42–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, M. J., Cerna, O., Han, J., & Saenz, V. (2008). The contradictory roles of institutional status in retaining underrepresented minorities in biomedical and behavioral science majors. The Review of Higher Education, 31(4), 433–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, M. J., Eagan, M. K., Lin, M. L., & Hurtado, S. (2011). Considering the impact of racial stigmas and science identity: Persistence among biomedical and behavioral science aspirants. Journal of Higher Education, 82(5), 564–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, M. J., Sharkness, J., Hurtado, S., & Newman, C. B. (2014). What matters in college for retaining aspiring scientists and engineers from underrepresented racial groups. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(5), 555–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X. (2015). STEM attrition among high-performing college students: Scope and potential causes. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 5(1), 41–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christe, B. (2013). The importance of faculty-student connections in STEM disciplines: A literature review. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 14(3), 22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, E. K., Fuesting, M. A., & Diekman, A. B. (2016). Enhancing interest in science: Exemplars as cues to communal affordances of science. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 46(11), 641–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demetriou, C., & Schmitz-Sciborski, A. (2011). Integration, motivation, strengths and optimism: Retention theories past, present and future. In R. Hayes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 7th national symposium on student retention, 2011, Charleston (pp. 300–312). Norman, OK: The University of Oklahoma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diekman, A. B., Brown, E. R., Johnston, A. M., & Clark, E. K. (2010). Seeking congruity between goals and roles: A new look at why women opt out of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. Psychological Science, 21(8), 1051–1057.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diekman, A. B., Clark, E. K., Johnston, A. M., Brown, E. R., & Steinberg, M. (2011). Malleability in communal goals and beliefs influences attraction to stem careers: Evidence for a goal congruity perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(5), 902–918.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espinosa, L. L. (2011). Pipelines and pathways: Women of color in undergraduate STEM majors and the college experiences that contribute to persistence. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H., Kemelgor, C., & Uzzi, B. (2000). Athena unbound: The advancement of women in science and technology. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Geisinger, B. N., & Raman, D. R. (2013). Why they leave: Understanding student attrition from engineering majors. International Journal of Engineering Education, 29(4), 914–925.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hausmann, L. R. M., Ye, F., Schofield, J. W., & Woods, R. L. (2009). Sense of belonging and persistence in white and African-American first-year students. Research in Higher Education, 50(7), 649–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, A.-B., Laursen, S. L., & Seymour, E. (2006). Becoming a scientist: The role of undergraduate research in students’ cognitive, personal, and professional development. Science Education, 91(1), 36–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S., & Carter, D. F. (1997). Effects of college transition and perceptions of the campus racial climate on Latino college students’ sense of belonging. Sociology of Education, 70(4), 324–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S., Han, J. C., Sáenz, V. B., Espinosa, L. L., Cabrera, N. L., & Cerna, O. S. (2007). predicting transition and adjustment to college: Biomedical and behavioral science aspirants’ and minority students’ first year of college. Research in Higher Education, 48(7), 841–887.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S., Eagan, M. K., Tran, M. C., Newman, C. B., Chang, M. J., & Velasco, P. (2011). “We do science here”: Underrepresented students’ interactions with faculty in different college contexts. Journal of Social Issues, 67(3), 553–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, B. (2015). Changing college majors: Does it happen more in STEM and do grades matter? Journal of College Science Teaching, 44(3), 44–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, K., Schen, M., Edwards, M., & Bao, L. (2012). Addressing STEM retention through a scientific thought and methods course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 41(4), 23–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laursen, S. L., Hunter, A.-B., Seymour, E., Thiry, H., & Melton, G. (2010). Undergraduate research in the sciences: Engaging students in real science. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locks, A. M., Hurtado, S., Bowman, N. A., & Oseguera, L. (2008). Extending notions of campus climate and diversity to students’ transition to college. The Review of Higher Education, 31(3), 257–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, J., & Fisher, A. (2003). Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, E. O. (2016). Devalued black and Latino racial identities: A by-product of STEM college culture? American Journal of Educational Research, 53(6), 1626–1662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGee, E. O., & Martin, D. B. (2011). “You would not believe what I have to go through to prove my intellectual value!”: Stereotype management among academically successful black mathematics and engineering students. American Education Research Journal, 48(6), 1347–1389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendoza-Denton, R., & Page-Gould, E. (2008). Can cross-group friendships influence minority students’ well-being at historically white universities? Psychological Science, 19, 933–939.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montfort, D., Brown, S., & Pollock, D. (2009). An investigation of students’ conceptual understanding in related sophomore to graduate-level engineering and mechanics courses. Journal of Engineering Education, 98(2), 111–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Museus, S. D., Yi, V., & Saelua, N. (2017). The impact of culturally engaging campus environments on sense of belonging. The Review of Higher Education, 40(2), 187–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nora, A., & Cabrera, A. F. (1996). The role of perceptions of prejudice and discrimination on the adjustment of minority students to college. The Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 119–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ong, M., Wright, C., Espinosa, L., & Orfield, G. (2011). Inside the double bind: A synthesis of empirical research on undergraduate and graduate women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 172–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ost, B. (2010). The role of peers and grades in determining major persistence in the sciences. Economics of Education Review, 29(6), 923–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rask, K. (2010). Attrition in STEM fields at a liberal arts college: The importance of grades and pre-collegiate preferences. Economics of Education Review, 29(6), 892–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seymour, E., & Hewitt, N. (1997). Talking about leaving: Why undergraduates leave the sciences. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seymour, E., Hunter, A.-B., Laursen, S., & DeAntoni, T. (2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a three-year study. Science Education, 88(4), 493–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smedley, B. D., Myers, H. F., & Harrell, S. P. (1993). Minority-status stresses and the college adjustment of ethnic minority freshmen. The Journal of Higher Education, 64(4), 434–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. L., Cech, E., Metz, A., Huntoon, M., & Moyer, C. (2014). Giving back or giving up: Native American student experiences in science and engineering. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(3), 413–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. K., & Wood, W. B. (2016). Teaching genetics: Past, present, and future. Genetics, 204(1), 5–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, S. J., Logel, C., & Davies, P. G. (2016). Stereotype threat. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 415–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African-Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stetzer, M. R., van Kampen, P., Shaffer, P. S., & McDermott, L. C. (2013). New insights into student understanding of complete circuits and the conservation of current. American Journal of Physics, 81(2), 134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streveler, R. A., Litzinger, T. A., Miller, R. L., & Steif, P. S. (2008). Learning conceptual knowledge in the engineering sciences: Overview and future research directions. Journal of Engineering Education, 97(3), 279–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talanquer, V. (2014). DBER and STEM education reform: Are we up to the challenge? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(6), 809–819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiry, H. (2017). The importance of community, belonging and support: Lessons learned from a decade of research on Hispanic retention in STEM. Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions. Draft White Paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinto, V. (1975). Dropouts from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent literature. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walton, G. M., & Carr, P. B. (2012). Social belonging and the motivation and intellectual achievement of negatively stereotyped students. In M. Inzlicht & T. Schmader (Eds.), Stereotype threat: Theory, processes, and application (pp. 89–106). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2007). A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(1), 82–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, D., Jones, D., Bocell, F., Crawford, J., Kim, M. J., Veilleux, N., … Plett, M. (2015). Belonging and academic engagement among undergraduate STEM students: A multi-institutional study. Research in Higher Education, 56(7), 750–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethnography and Evaluation Research (E&ER), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Dana G. Holland

  2. Center for STEM Learning, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Dana G. Holland

Authors
  1. Dana G. Holland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dana G. Holland .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ethnography & Evaluation Research (E&ER), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Elaine Seymour  & Anne-Barrie Hunter  & 

  2. Center for STEM Learning, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Anne-Barrie Hunter

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Holland, D.G. (2019). The Struggle to Belong and Thrive. In: Seymour, E., Hunter, AB. (eds) Talking about Leaving Revisited. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25304-2_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25304-2_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25303-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25304-2

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation