Persistence makes the difference in minority participation in science, researchers say
Friday, August 12, 2016 - 08:02
in Psychology & Sociology
The problem of persistence has long troubled undergraduate programs hoping to guide promising students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups into science careers, but a new study by science education researchers at the University of Wisconsin says that the problem appears to be translating students' initial interest into confidence that they can proceed in science. About half of all students from historically underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds say they want to pursue science when they start out as undergraduates, but only about 17% of those students currently go on to earn bachelor's degrees in science.