This dissertation is an evaluation of an intervention designed to (a) increase the number of minority students who pursue graduate degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and (b) to develop a cadre of qualified individuals from minority backgrounds who, upon finishing their training, are ready to take positions as faculty members and mentors. The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) is a program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a pathway from undergraduate to graduate school and to a career in the professoriate. AGEP is part of an effort by the U.S. Government to keep the nations' competitive edge; redress historical gender and racial inequalities still prevalent at the higher levels of science and academia; and to use those who have reached the top of their professions as effective role models for the thousands of talented youth who are excluded from STEM fields due to real or perceived social, economic, or cultural barriers. As of September 2012, there were 178 colleges and universities grouped in 37 alliances nationwide and serving approximately 22,000 minority doctoral students. Specifically, this evaluation focuses on one alliance situated in the North Region of the United States, and presents the approaches, rationale, and findings of evaluation activities conducted during 2011 through 2012. The overarching goals of this evaluation were to assist program managers and staff in their efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of the program, and to provide them with information related to the program's contribution to increasing the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM graduate programs, their transition into the professoriate, and the strength of the program's theory of change. To achieve these goals the evaluation design included a) the reconstruction of the program's theory, b) a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research; and c) analysis of primary data collected from a sample of current AGEP students, alumni, faculty, staff, and program officers. Primary data were collected through focus groups, interviews, and electronic surveys for current and former participants. The evaluation found evidence that the North Region program has been largely successful in contributing to the number of URM receiving STEM graduate degrees at both the master's and doctoral levels in North Carolina since its inception in 1999. Those who have received their graduate degrees are employed in academic and non-academic settings as practitioners, researchers, and as university faculty. Probably the most significant weakness was the absence of a systematic or coherent evaluation design of the program that could be found throughout the history of the program.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how women enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs perceive their undergraduate experience in relation to their anticipatory socialization into the engineering profession. The significance of this study rests in the fact that although over the past few decades millions of dollars have been invested to combat the shortage of women entering and persisting in engineering undergraduate programs, very little improvement has yet been achieved. More importantly, although many factors have been determined to perhaps influence the under representation of women in engineering, a clear understanding of why this phenomenon continues has not yet been established. The findings from this study are intended to provide insight into what women in engineering need to succeed and provide clear recommendations for practice and policy to address the issue.

<p> Earlier studies concluded that technology&rsquo;s strength is in supporting student learning rather than as an instrument for content delivery (Angeli &amp; Valanides, 2014). Current research espouses the merits of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework as a guide for educators&rsquo; reflections about technology integration within the context of content and instructional practice. Grounded by two theoretical frameworks, TPACK (Mishra &amp; Koehler, 2006; 2008) and Rogers&rsquo; (1983, 1995) theory of diffusion of innovation, the purpose of this mixed-methods research was two-fold: to explore the perceived competencies of tertiary science faculty at higher education institutions with respect to their integration of technology within the constructs of pedagogical practice and content learning and to analyze whether these perceived competencies may serve as predictive factors for technology adoption level. The literature review included past research that served as models for the Sci-TPACK instrument. Twenty-nine professors of tertiary science courses participated in an online Likert survey, and four professors provided in-depth interviews on their TPACK practices. Quantitative analysis of data consisted of descriptive and reliability statistics, calculations of means for each of the seven scales or domains of TPACK, and regression analysis. Open-ended questions on the Likert survey and individual interviews provided recurrent themes of the qualitative data. Final results revealed that the participants integrate technology into pedagogy and content through a myriad of TPACK practices. Regression analysis supported perceived TPACK competencies as predictive factors for technology adoption level. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to ascertain the various factors that influenced these first-generation college women as they chose a college and selected a STEM major and subsequently persisted to upper level (junior/senior) status. Twenty-five first-generation college women in STEM majors who attended a research-intensive university in the Midwest were interviewed. Approaching this study using constructivist grounded theory provided the opportunity for deeper insights by examining data at a conceptual level while preserving the voices of the women in this study. The women faced numerous challenges on their journeys, yet they persisted. As the women in this study selected and persisted in STEM, they demonstrated thoughtful determination, experienced shifting identities, established purposeful relationships and applied forward thinking, as they practiced high-stakes decision-making during their journeys. The experiences of these women, namely first-generation women in STEM fields, may inform students, parents, educators, researchers, and policymakers concerned with (a) inspiring students to consider STEM majors, (b) fostering student success in STEM throughout their academic journeys, and (c) ultimately increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and women in the STEM fields.</p>

This study examines and evaluates the effectiveness of the Federal Government's commitment to provide increased support to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the academic areas of science and engineering technology programs. It focuses on the implementation and results of Executive Order 12320, signed on September 15, 1981, by President Ronald Reagan, which mandates Federal Government Agencies and Departments to eliminate known barriers to HBCU participation in areas of research and development. The study considers the influences of the Federal Government's impact and historical relationships with HBCUs for the period 1981-1988. Additionally, it examines the level of efforts made to eliminate the underrepresentation of minorities in science and technology programs. Data evaluated for the study was acquired from Federal Government Agencies and Departments, HBCUs, private sector businesses and corporations, organizations, and other sources. It was analyzed to determine levels of science and non-science funding support for HBCUs and served as the historical framework for the study. The primary institutional sources of information and data collection for this study were from a number of HBCUs selected based upon identified and stated factors which contributed to various participation levels in Federally-sponsored science and technology programs. The target population was the universe of the HBCUs (two-year, four-year, and graduate level institutions), with the sample population chosen to represent all HBCUs on the basis of levels of participation in research and development, science and technology programs. Archival data was collected from major Federal reports, supplemented by personal interviews with educational experts and institutional officials. Several important factors emerged from this study. Foremost, the data suggest that HBCUs which received the greatest amount of Federal funding and support in the science areas were more likely to receive the greatest amount of funding in non-science academic areas. The findings also suggest that Federal Government support in the non-science academic science engineering programs served as factors which enhance the potential and competitiveness of HBCUs. Regarding the successfulness and effectiveness of the Federal Government and private sector commitment to HBCUs, there have been extensive efforts to support active participation of HBCUs in science and non-science programs.

<p> Drawing from Latino/a Critical Race Theory and the related Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model, I concentrate on three forms of CCW&mdash;aspirational, navigational, and resistance capital&mdash;for this qualitative study on the undergraduate experience of Latina students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors, focusing on strategies and achieving baccalaureate attainment. I interviewed ten Latina students and asked them questions regarding their educational experiences in STEM majors, what contributed to their degree completion, and the strategies they employed for achieving baccalaureate attainment. I identified and described six themes within the study (the underrepresentation of Latinas in STEM majors, the lack of preparation by academic programs for upper division courses, motivators, involvement, time management, and support networks) that, when combined, contributed to participants&rsquo; degree attainment. This study concludes with implications for policy and practice that would allow universities to better assist Latinas in STEM majors to achieve baccalaureate attainment.</p>

<p>The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the narrative of Latina graduates who successfully navigated through community college and 4-year institutions in the STEM fields. Rather than focus on what these students lack as much of the current research does, the study explored what assets these students bring that supports their success in STEM fields. Utilizing an ethnographic interview approach, participants who attained STEM baccalaureates in California were interviewed. Qualitative findings revealed various experiences, attitudes, and cultural influences that led to successful completion of a STEM degree. First, the study found that successful community college Latina STEM graduates exhibit grit, are resilient, determined, and have positive attitudes about their underrepresentation in STEM. Second, participants sought after peer, faculty, and staff relationships that helped them be successful. Lastly, participants had the support of their families and reported a high level of connectedness to their culture. Implications, recommendations for practice, and directions for future research are discussed.

<p> This research highlights the scenarios that might serve as a strategic vision to describe a future beyond the current library, one which both guides provosts and creates a map for the transformation of human resources and technology in the university research libraries. The scenarios offer managerial leaders an opportunity to envision new roles for librarians and staff which brings a much needed focus on the development of human resources as well as a thought-stream to understand decisions which effectively and systematically move the organization toward a strategic vision.</p><p> These scenarios outline possible future directions research libraries could take by focusing on perspectives from library directors, provosts, and administrators for human resources. The four case study scenarios introduce potential future roles for librarians and highlight the unsustainability of the current scholarly communications model as well as uncertain factors related to the political, social, technical, and demographic issues facing campuses. Given the changes institutions face, scenarios allow directors to include more uncertainty when developing and articulating a vision. These scenarios may start a discussion, before a strategic planning process, to sharpen the evaluations and measures necessary to monitor achievements that define the value of the library.</p><p> This dissertation highlights the importance of research library managerial leaders developing a strategic vision and introduces scenarios as way to communicate that vision with provosts, the senior leadership team, librarians, and staff. How the library directors approach the strategic vision scenario provides insight into the challenges and barriers identified within the existing organizational culture.</p>

<p> Prominent Feature Analysis (PFA) is a reliable and valid writing assessment tool, derived from the writing it is used to assess. PFA, used to assess on-demand expository essays in Grades 3&ndash;12, uncovers positive and negative characteristics of a sample. To extend PFA to a new academic level and genre, I assessed scientific writing of 208 undergraduates, identifying 35 linguistic and 20 scientific prominent features. An essay could earn up to 28 positive (24 linguistic and four scientific), and up to 27 negative marks (11 linguistic and 16 scientific). The minimum prominent features number in a paper was 3, the maximum was 25 (<i>M</i> = 12.45, <i>SD</i> = 3.88). The highest positive and negative prominent features numbers noted were 17 (<i>M</i> = 4.11, <i>SD</i> = 3.96), and 16 (<i>M</i> = 8.34, <i> SD</i> = 3.25) respectively. </p><p> Rasch analysis revealed a good data-model fit, with item separation of 5.81 (.97 reliability). The estimated feature difficulty of items spanned over 10 logits; common errors were easier to avoid than &ldquo;good writing&rdquo; characteristics to exhibit. Significant correlations among linguistic, but not between linguistic and scientific features, suggest writing proficiency does not assure excellence in scientific writing in novices. Ten linguistic features significantly strongly and moderately inter-correlated with each other, appearing to represent writing proficiency. Student GPA correlated significantly with the raw prominent features scores (<i>r</i> = .37; <i>p</i> &lt; .01), and negatively with the sum of negative linguistic features (<i>r</i> = &ndash;.40, <i>p</i> &lt; .01), providing support for scale&rsquo;s validity, and suggesting that good students are better at avoiding common writing errors than less able learners. Additionally, PFA scores positively significantly correlated with composite ACT scores. </p><p> To investigate PFA&rsquo;s ability to track change in writing over time, I compared 2 sets of prominent features scores of 25 students. In comparison with earlier essays, later (longer) essays exhibited significantly more positive, <i> and</i> more negative features. Prominent features scores did not correlate significantly between the sets. This suggests, that while PFA is a valid and appropriate tool for analysis of undergraduate scientific writing, it was not suitable for tracking change in writing ability in this small sample.</p><p>

<p> The increased demand for qualified STEM workers, necessitates addressing the bachelor&rsquo;s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree achievement among African Americans and other underrepresented populations. Using inquiry derived from Harper&rsquo;s (2010) Anti-Deficit Achievement Framework, this study sought to explore the factors that contribute to the successful degree completion of African American STEM students within a large comprehensive university system. Coding of the twelve semi-structured interviews revealed six major themes: a) K-12/precollege educational experiences, b) motivation to complete a STEM degree, c) systems of social support, d) extracurricular activities and out-of-class experiences, e) addressing stereotyping and discrimination, and f) faculty behaviors and dispositions. All themes were intertwined at each phase of participants&rsquo; academic careers, thereby, highlighting the complexity of this population&rsquo;s experience and what is needed to address their low STEM degree attainment. Findings indicated that this student population benefits from positive, sustained faculty-student interactions, holistic STEM success programming, and genuine networks of social support. Furthermore, Harper&rsquo;s framework can be modified to explore the motivation of African American STEM students as well as the African American student&rsquo;s relationship with disability support services.</p><p>