Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008aas...212.9701s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #212, #97.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.272
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
For many years, federal agencies have enthusiastically supported Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs to engage students in research experiences to encourage them to continue to pursue astronomy career paths. Despite widespread tacit agreement that such experiences are critically important to filling the STEM career pipeline, there has been insufficient evaluation published to substantiate these impacts, with what little is described focusing on building students’ confidence and enculturation into the scientific enterprise. Upon closer inspection the data that exists, it appears that REU's may have little impact on participants’ career decisions, with the small number of those who do alter their intentions in favor of attending being balanced out by those who decide not to attend. This scenario begs the question of do REU programs create students who will go on to STEM careers or, alternatively, do REU programs simply attract students who are already pre-destined for STEM careers? This study chose to approach the problem using a mixed method, ex post facto design. Using six years of data, pre- and post- interview transcripts were compared to career decisions to develop a framework through which to further interview participants with regard to which career pathway decisions they are making. An interview process was then used to develop a new model that explained both these participants’ choices and findings in previous research. Data suggests that the nature and perceived quality of an REU experience is largely irrelevant to STEM career pursuit. For participants who were already committed to graduate studies, the REU was a means to enhance their candidacy for admissions. Those least likely to attend graduate school were those who were not committed prior to the REU. For these participants the REU served as a means to enhance their resumes for post-graduation employment.
Slater Stephanie J.
Slater Timothy F.
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