Date of Award
Winter 12-19-2024
Document Type
Dissertation (799 registration)
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership
Department
Graduate Studies
Committee Chair
Ximena Suárez-Sousa
Keywords
sense of belonging, high school, mathematics, STEM, career interests, SCCT
Abstract
This quantitative correlational research sought to examine the relationship between high school students’ sense of belonging to mathematics and their interests and intentions to pursue fields of study and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). With a theoretical framework based on the belongingness hypothesis and social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the author explicitly linked the universality of the phenomenon of sense of belonging to individual, contextual, environmental, and experiential factors that influence career-related interest development. A sample of 328 high school students attending one private, Catholic, college preparatory school in the Upper Midwest of the United States responded to an online questionnaire that contained Likert scale questions from the MSoB Scale, the HSLS:09 Survey, and the S-STEM Survey along with a few open-ended prompts. The author collected direct and quantifiable evidence to examine the existence of associations by using a series of hypothesis tests. Findings revealed a non-statistically significant relationship between sense of belonging to mathematics and interest in STEM fields of study but suggested a relationship between sense of belonging to mathematics and intentions to pursue careers in STEM. Significant gender differences were identified for sense of belonging to mathematics as well as STEM interests and career intentions. The author also identified differences dependent on parent-guardian occupation and extracurricular activity involvement. Implications of these findings for educational practices are discussed, which include recommendations for enhancing STEM pathway prerequisite knowledge and practical application of mathematics.
Recommended Citation
Weir, Monica J., "The Impacts and Interplay of Adolescent Personal Contexts and Sense of Belonging to Mathematics on Postsecondary STEM Field Interests and Intentions" (2024). Dissertations, Theses, and Projects. 979.
https://red.mnstate.edu/thesis/979