IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/edfpol/v11y2016i2p177-202.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Supporting the STEM Pipeline: Linking Applied STEM Course-Taking in High School to Declaring a STEM Major in College

Author

Listed:
  • Michael A. Gottfried

    (Gevirtz Graduate School of Education University of California Santa Barbara, CA)

  • Robert Bozick

    (RAND Corporation Santa Monica, CA)

Abstract

Recently, through the support from the Obama administration, the traditional STEM curricula (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in high schools are being updated with integrated, applied STEM courses (e.g., technology and engineering) in order to enhance the “real world” applicability of scientific fields and ultimately to strengthen the link between what students learn in high school and college major choice. Using longitudinal survey and transcript data, this study examines whether taking these applied STEM courses in high school can predict higher odds of declaring a STEM major in college. The findings reveal that taking applied STEM courses in high school is associated with a higher probability of declaring a STEM college major for four-year students. Moreover, applied STEM course-taking is highly predictive of declaring an applied STEM major. Implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael A. Gottfried & Robert Bozick, 2016. "Supporting the STEM Pipeline: Linking Applied STEM Course-Taking in High School to Declaring a STEM Major in College," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 11(2), pages 177-202, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:edfpol:v:11:y:2016:i:2:p:177-202
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/EDFP_a_00185
    Download Restriction: Access to PDF is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Federman Maya, 2007. "State Graduation Requirements, High School Course Taking, and Choosing a Technical College Major," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-34, January.
    2. Rask, Kevin, 2010. "Attrition in STEM fields at a liberal arts college: The importance of grades and pre-collegiate preferences," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 892-900, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chise Diana & Fort Margherita & Monfardini Chiara, 2021. "On the Intergenerational Transmission of STEM Education among Graduate Students," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(1), pages 115-145, January.
    2. Elizabeth S. Park & Federick Ngo & Tatiana Melguizo, 2021. "The Role of Math Misalignment in the Community College STEM Pathway," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(4), pages 403-447, June.
    3. Chise, Diana & Fort, Margherita & Monfardini, Chiara, 2019. "Scientifico! like Dad: On the Intergenerational Transmission of STEM Education in Italy," IZA Discussion Papers 12688, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Shulamit Kahn & Donna Ginther, 2017. "Women and STEM," NBER Working Papers 23525, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Diana Chise & Margherita Fort & Chiara Monfardini, 2020. "Scientifico! like Dad: On the Intergenerational Transmission of STEM Education," FBK-IRVAPP Working Papers 2020-01, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (IRVAPP), Bruno Kessler Foundation.
    6. F. Chris Curran, 2019. "Estimating the Relationship Between Preschool Attendance and Kindergarten Science Achievement: Implications for Early Science Achievement Gaps," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 14(2), pages 210-241, Spring.
    7. Granato, Silvia, 2023. "Early Influences and the choice of college major: Can policies reduce the gender gap in scientific curricula (STEM)?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 494-521.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd R. Stinebrickner, 2014. "A Major in Science? Initial Beliefs and Final Outcomes for College Major and Dropout," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(1), pages 426-472.
    2. David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2015. "State Merit Aid Programs and College Major: A Focus on STEM," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(4), pages 973-1006.
    3. Wiswall, Matthew & Stiefel, Leanna & Schwartz, Amy Ellen & Boccardo, Jessica, 2014. "Does attending a STEM high school improve student performance? Evidence from New York City," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 93-105.
    4. Winters, John V., 2014. "STEM graduates, human capital externalities, and wages in the U.S," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 190-198.
    5. Bottia, Martha Cecilia & Stearns, Elizabeth & Mickelson, Roslyn Arlin & Moller, Stephanie & Valentino, Lauren, 2015. "Growing the roots of STEM majors: Female math and science high school faculty and the participation of students in STEM," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 14-27.
    6. Abdulmumini Baba Alfa & Abdulmumini Baba Alfa & Mohd Zaini Abd Karim, 2016. "Student Enthusiasm as a Key Determinant of their Performance," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 237-245.
    7. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2015. "Does Immigration Affect Whether US Natives Major in Science and Engineering?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 79-108.
    8. Nicholas A. Wright & Puneet Arora & Jesse Wright, 2024. "I Promise to Work Hard: The Impact of a Non-Binding Commitment Pledge on Academic Performance," Working Papers 2411, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    9. Zhuang Hao & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2019. "The Effects of Graduation Requirements on Risky Health Behaviors of High School Students," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 97-125, Winter.
    10. Shulamit Kahn & Donna Ginther, 2017. "Women and STEM," NBER Working Papers 23525, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Yifan Gong & Lance Lochner & Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd R. Stinebrickner, 2019. "The Consumption Value of College," NBER Working Papers 26335, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Nicholas Voorhees & Justin C. Ortagus & Erica Marti, 2023. "Give It a Swirl? An Examination of the Influence of 4-Year Students Taking Entry-Level Math Courses at the Local Community College," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(1), pages 147-173, February.
    13. Patricia K Hunt & Michelle Dong & Crystal M Miller, 2021. "A multi-year science research or engineering experience in high school gives women confidence to continue in the STEM pipeline or seek advancement in other fields: A 20-year longitudinal study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Michael Kaganovich & Morgan Taylor & Ruli Xiao, 2023. "Gender Differences in Persistence in a Field of Study: This Isn’t All about Grades," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(4), pages 503-556.
    15. Bratti, Massimiliano & Lippo, Enrico, 2022. "COVID-19 and the Gender Gap in University Student Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 15456, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Kugler, Adriana D. & Tinsley, Catherine H. & Ukhaneva, Olga, 2021. "Choice of majors: are women really different from men?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Hill, Andrew J., 2017. "State affirmative action bans and STEM degree completions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 31-40.
    18. Griffith, Amanda L. & Main, Joyce B., 2019. "First impressions in the classroom: How do class characteristics affect student grades and majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 125-137.
    19. Yanqing Ding & Wei Li & Xin Li & Yinduo Wu & Jin Yang & Xiaoyang Ye, 2021. "Heterogeneous Major Preferences for Extrinsic Incentives: The Effects of Wage Information on the Gender Gap in STEM Major Choice," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(8), pages 1113-1145, December.
    20. Rask, Kevin, 2010. "Attrition in STEM fields at a liberal arts college: The importance of grades and pre-collegiate preferences," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 892-900, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tpr:edfpol:v:11:y:2016:i:2:p:177-202. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kelly McDougall (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://direct.mit.edu/journals .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.