Enhancing STEM career pathways
Outcomes of a pre-professional workshop series at a historically black college
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/5qsk2607Keywords:
STEM, underrepresented minorities, self-efficacy, graduate school readiness, career development, HBCU, persistence, professional preparationAbstract
This study evaluates the impact of a STEM pre-professional workshop series (STEM PPWS) designed to enhance self-efficacy, persistence, and graduate school readiness among underrepresented minority (URM) students at a historically Black college. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory, the intervention consisted of sequential workshops on career development topics, including interviewing, personal statements, and identifying suitable research opportunities. A pretest‒posttest design was employed with three cohorts (N = 71) across multiple years. Results showed statistically significant gains in self-efficacy, persistence, and career aspirations. The greatest improvements were noted in personal statement and interviewing workshops. These findings underscore the importance of targeted, skill-based, and identity-affirming cocurricular programming in preparing URM students for postbaccalaureate STEM pathways.
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