Beginning with the understanding that minority students are often underrepresented in STEM doctoral programs despite their growing proportions in the population, this study provides a description of selected minority doctoral students' experiences in STEM programs. Specifically, this study examines the influence financial support and relationships with faculty advisors and doctoral peers have on doctoral students' experiences and progress. Data for this research were obtained from 13 minority respondents enrolled during spring, summer, and fall 2009 and 73 majority respondents who provided some comparisons and contrasts. The participants were all Ph.D. students from several STEM programs at a research university in the Midwest. Findings from this study suggest that financial support of doctoral students through fellowships and research/teaching assistantships enables students to interact closely with their faculty and their peers and consequently become integrated into the social and academic systems of their programs. Further, through their experiences in teaching and research minority students report acquiring skills and competencies useful not only for graduate school success (e.g. time management; course reading; dissertation writing) but also for successful transition into their respective professions and careers. Funding takes a different form and plays a different role in shaping students' positive experiences in each of the three stages of doctoral study: fellowships during a student's transition year(s), teaching/research assistants during the middle years, and fellowships during the final year(s). Students reported that this sequence of funding supports successful transition into the doctoral program, development of academic and professional competencies during the middles years, and successful doctoral completion during the final year. Faculty-student relationships are important in socializing minority doctoral students into their disciplines and professions. Faculty advisors and mentors are especially important in developing students' academic competencies as well as in preparing them for their professions. In addition, faculty-student relationships characterized by faculty availability, approachability, interest in developing students' academic and professional competence, and support and encouragement are important, perhaps especially so in the absence of mentoring by faculty of color. Peer to peer interactions primarily offer academic combined with social support. Further, interactions and group dynamics among minority students and their transition into PWI doctoral programs seem to be affected by their undergraduate educational backgrounds.

Currently, between 21.9 and 23 million veterans have served in the United States armed forces. Of those, 2 million are women, and of those, only 6.5% use the Veterans Health Administration system. These females often suffer from physical and mental health disorders, and overall impaired quality of life (QOL), rendering their healthcare needs complex. Seeking, and providing care in this specialty area may become overwhelming not only for the women seeking the care, but also for healthcare systems that are unfamiliar with the specific needs of this population. A retrospective medical records review was completed of 51 female veterans between the ages of 40 and 60 years, and who attended a women’s health specialty clinic in a women’s health center in the VA healthcare system. This center provides comprehensive women’s health services to female veterans. By attending this center, female veterans are having most if not all of their healthcare needs met in one location. Some of the services provided at the center include: primary care; gynecology; other gender specific health care needs; mental health care; and social assistance among other issues that may be associated with the overall QOL and depression. Despite this study having a small sample size (n = 51), the participants were ethnically diverse: White (52.9%); African American (29.4%); Hispanic/Latino (15.7%); and Asian/Pacific Islander (2%). The overall results of this study reveal that female veterans who attend this clinic, have significantly lower baseline scores for QOL when compared to a North American population reference value. Means and standard deviation for total Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) score were; (n = 51, M = 21.2, SD = 9.2) compared to the North American women population reference values (n = 1,376, M = 9.1, SD = 7.6), z = 9.41, p < .0001, cohens d = 1.31. These results were significantly lower for all MRS subsets. The higher the means and standard deviation, the lower the QOL. A paired sample t-test indicated significant improvement in QOL after treatment in QOL (t = 7.80, p < .0001), and depression levels (t = 3.74, p < .0001) among female veterans attending the women’s health specialty clinic. Forward stepwise multiple linear regression models were fit to explore the association between the following variables and the outcomes of QOL and depression levels: low socioeconomic status (SES); number of deliveries; years of service; and military sexual trauma (MST). The only predictor that appeared to be significantly associated with higher MRS scores at baseline was a history of MST (β = .363; t = 2.44; p = 0.02). Higher MRS scores can be interpreted as lower QOL among female veterans. Despite the complexities and unique needs of female veterans, the findings of this study suggest that timely, comprehensive and gender specific healthcare can significantly improve overall QOL and depression levels. In addition, further studies are need to assess what other variables may have a direct association with QOL, depression levels, and overall health of female veterans.

The problem investigated in this study is that U.S. minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) student participation in advanced academic classes continues to lag behind that of Caucasian and economically advantaged students. The purpose of this project study was to investigate the participation gaps between minority and low SES students compared with non-minority and high SES students in advanced mathematics courses in the study district's middle school. The theoretical framework for the study was gap-analysis theory. A quantitative gap analysis of existing student test score data was conducted, utilizing a secondary analysis of existing Iowa Test of Basic Skills data from 347 middle school students, with 196 students classified as low SES and 129 as minority. Descriptive statistics and 2 one-sample chi square tests were used to examine differences by ethnicity and SES subgroups and to test whether the distributions of students who met the district's 70th-percentile cut-score were different than the hypothesized distribution of equal proportions. The results demonstrated significant enrollment gaps between minority and low SES students versus non-minority and high SES students. The study findings informed a policy recommendation project that offered suggestions for the current mathematics testing and enrollment program at the study site. Implications for social change include providing research-based findings to the administration at the local site on the enrollment gaps for minority and low SES students which may inform future decisions about enrollment policies for advanced mathematics courses.

There is little diversity among earned doctorates in the United States. First-generation college students are especially at-risk for not matriculating to a doctoral degree. This applied dissertation provided an understanding of the obstacles faced by first-generation college students in doctoral programs by studying alumni of the McNair Scholars Program. The study examined the components of the McNair Scholars Program that can help ameliorate obstacles faced by first-generation college students as they enroll and persist into graduate school. This study utilized a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach to evaluate the components of the McNair Scholars Program that prepared students for successful persistence into graduate school and subsequent completion of an earned doctorate.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / More than half of the 400,000 freshmen minority students enrolled each year in colleges and universities in the United States fail to graduate within six years and some not at all. Many barriers impact student retention in college, especially for underrepresented undergraduate minority students. Studies in the past have focused on the causes of attrition of underrepresented undergraduate minority students, revealing a significant gap in the research on what leads to their success in higher education. A phenomenological study was used to allow participants to share their experiences from their individual perspectives. This qualitative research study investigated the social psychological attrition barriers encountered by successful undergraduate underrepresented minority students from African American and Latino groups. Exploring the perspective of successful students deepened the understanding of the barriers that minority students face in higher education, how they addressed these barriers, and what helped them to successfully graduate. Through in-depth interviews, this study explored the perceived barriers to student success encountered by successful undergraduate underrepresented minority students in a PWI. Participants' strategies for success was be examined and discussed.

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This study evaluated three HCOP projects to determine, describe, and assess their overall effectiveness and identify successful strategies used by these projects to reach their specific objectives. Demographic and scholastic data were collected about 393 HCOP participants at the three HCOP projects in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia during the years 1990-1999. Detailed information about the activities used to incorporate the HCOP legislative purposes into the programs was also collected. Sixty-seven percent of HCOP participants were Caucasian and 78% were female. Scholastic data was limited to data from the EKU and ETSU HCOP programs. The average high school GPA score for HCOP participants in this study was 3.34 on a 4.0 scale. The average ACT score was 20.6. When compared with institutional data, HCOP students had a higher GPA than the regular first-year college students at the specific institutions. The average ACT scores were similar for the HCOP and regular students taking into account the standard error of measurement. Ninety-three percent HCOP participants enrolled in college and 77% of them majored in a health profession programs. Fifty-eight percent of the HCOP participants graduated from a program of study and of those who graduated, 87% were from a health profession program. Eighty-seven percent of the HCOP participants were employed in a health profession. HCOP projects were required to conduct activities that addressed two or more legislative purposes. These legislative purposes were recruitment, preliminary education, facilitating entry, retention and dissemination of financial aid information. The activities of each project were summarized and the impact was discussed. Students who participated in HCOP programs were likely to enroll and graduate from a health related major and become employed in a health profession. The researcher recommended the need for (a) individualized retention strategies to prevent or minimize attrition rates among participants, (b) the development of a uniform participant profile that would allow for accurate comparisons across institutions, (c) HCOP grantees to be more supportive of evaluative studies and, (d) dissemination of research findings on HCOP programs and their impact.

Female mentoring success was investigated as an undergraduate intervention utilizing career development practices to reduce dysfunctional career thinking and STEM major retention in first year freshmen females within a living-learning community. Repeated measures MANOVAs and canonical correlations in the causal comparative research design evaluated mentoring’s influence on first year females. Male voluntary participants (n = 126) formulated the comparison group, and female voluntary participants (n = 75) filled the treatment group. Repeated measure multivariate analyses of variances compared differences between the interaction of mentoring and gender over time on dysfunctional career thinking using two assessments: Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and Career Decision Scale (CDS) and their five subscales (decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, external conflict, certainty and indecision). Canonical correlations analyzed the effect participation rates had on student change scores on the CTI and CDS, indicating mentoring intervention effects on reducing dysfunctional career thinking and decidedness. Conclusions included: (a) females had higher levels of dysfunctional career thinking than males; (b) overtime both groups decreased dysfunctional thoughts, and solidifying their STEM career choices; (c) females had reduced levels of career decidedness compared to males; (d) both groups increased certainty overtime, solidifying their STEM career choice, and (e) when the STEM career choice was made, female certainty was more solidified than males. The study adds to the career development research within STEM at the undergraduate level providing colleges and universities with a structured first year female mentoring program in STEM. The iv GEMS model may be ideal for colleges and universities utilizing living-learning communities to increase underrepresented female retention and those without STEM career planning courses.

Underrepresentation among those identified for gifted programs has been a concern in the field of gifted education for over a century, affecting students of color, students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students. Universal screening has emerged as a possible strategy to increase referrals of students from underrepresented populations and to produce gifted population demographics more reflective of total student enrollment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of universal screening measures on the diversity of students found eligible for gifted education services. The study examined the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship between a referral source and the gifted identification of elementary school students? 2. To what extent do universal screening measures influence the diversity of students eligible for gifted education services? This study used existing referral and eligibility data of elementary school students in a medium-sized school district who were administered a universal screening measure during the 2019-2020 school year. Pearson chi-square tests with Yates' continuity correction were used to determine the existence of possible associations between referral source and gifted identification status, and Cramér's V was used as a measure of effect size. Referral rates, accuracy, and effectiveness of referral sources were also computed. Across all demographic groups, universal screeners referred more students than any other referral source, and the highest number of students identified gifted after the full gifted evaluation came from universal screener referrals. Teacher referrals and universal screener referrals produced the most diverse identified gifted results after evaluation. Universal screeners displayed the highest referral rates and were the most accurate and effective referral source across all demographic groups. This study provides the field of gifted education further research on universal screening, and the findings of this study provide educational leaders data to inform practice. Implications for school and district leaders involve multiple stakeholders and address different areas to promote diversity among the gifted student population. The implications center on parent and community engagement, professional learning, best practices in gifted education, and evaluation of gifted identification processes. / Doctor of Education / Historically, students of color, students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students have been underrepresented in gifted programs. Universal screening has emerged as a potential practice to refer more students from underrepresented populations and consequentially identify a more diverse gifted population, but few studies exist to support adoption of the practice and to justify the financial expense and amount of instructional time devoted to administering the assessments. This study used existing data of elementary school students in a medium-sized school district who were administered a universal screening measure to investigate the influence of universal screening measures on the diversity of students found eligible for gifted education services. Possible associations between referral source and gifted status were determined, and referral rates, accuracy and identification rates, and effectiveness of various referral sources were calculated. Across demographic groups, universal screeners referred more students than any other referral source, and the highest number of students identified gifted after the full gifted evaluation resulted from these referrals. Teacher referrals and universal screener referrals were found to produce the most diverse identified gifted populations after evaluation; universal screeners displayed the highest referral rates and were the most accurate and effective referral source across all demographic groups. This study adds further research on universal screening to the field of gifted education, and the findings of this study provide educational leaders information regarding the effectiveness of universal screening to translate into institutional practice.

Due to an impending STEM shortage facing the United States, it is critically important that students of color are recruited to scientific disciplines. This STEM shortage affects agricultural fields, as many agricultural disciplines are scientifically based. There is currently a lack of students of color within agricultural disciplines when compared to the increasingly diverse make-up of the United States. This qualitative study utilizes the path-goal theory of leadership (House, 1971) and reasoned action theory (Fishbein and Azjen, 2010) to examine the perceptions of administrators regarding the barriers that students of color face within colleges of agriculture at 1862 land-grant institutions. Another important purpose of this study is to identify strategies that department heads, deans, and administrators within colleges of agriculture can use to increase the recruitment and retention of students of color. The study utilized phenomenology, as this method focuses on participants' subjective experiences and interpretations of the world. Eighteen participants at 17 institutions were interviewed about their perceptions of diversity, the barriers that students of color face within colleges of agriculture, and strategies for success. The findings of this study reveal that (1) diversity is a multifaceted and evolving concept that varies from individual-to-individual, (2) students of color face barriers to access, (3) successful recruitment and retention strategies for students of color require investments from administrators, and (4) data validates program success. / Ph. D.