How Southeast Asian Students Develop Their Science Self-Efficacy During the First Year of College

To contribute to the scant yet growing literature on Southeast Asian students within college STEM, this quantitative study investigated factors that were most salient in science self-efficacy development of these students, which prior scholarship suggests is significant for various STEM success outcomes. Using descriptive and predictive statistical approaches on a multi-institution and nationwide longitudinal sample of first-year STEM students, results suggest that a unique set of predictors are associated with Southeast Asian students’ science self-efficacy development when compared to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students in the aggregate. Further, results point to the importance of disaggregating AAPI racial/ethnic data in research to reveal factors that are distinct to each AAPI ethnic subgroup and to dismantle the narrative that AAPI students are a monolithic group. Findings suggest that pedagogical approaches that employ community building among faculty and students within the classroom are associated with Southeast Asian students’ science self-efficacy. Guided by these findings, implications for theory, practice, and policy that center Southeast Asian students and their development within STEM are offered to inform relevant future research, program plans, and policy recommendations.