ABSTRACT

The S-STEM project "STEM Scholarship Program with Promotion And Retention of STEM Education through Networking Team (PARENT)" at the University of Houston (UH) will recruit and support students in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) who are majoring in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics, or physics, including those who are also participating in co-curricular activities in the Teach Houston program. In addition to scholarships, the project will provide community building, mentoring, and research placement assistance, all of which are evidence-based strategies for fostering undergraduate student success. Further, the project will institute a Parental Academy to study the impact of parental/family influence and support on retention and graduation of STEM majors. The Parental Academy will build and strengthen the families' knowledge to help the scholars utilize best practices for student success, navigate and overcome obstacles, and build confidence throughout their academic careers. UH, a Hispanic-Serving/Asian-Serving Institution, is an ideal location for implementation of this project, which will inform the STEM community of the impacts of novel and evidence-based support activities that can lead to improved retention and graduation of STEM majors across diverse demographic groups. Ultimately, PARENT will provide a diversified pool of students trained across the NSM disciplines for advancement into STEM careers, graduate programs. Some of the STEM graduates impacted may also consider opportunities to teach younger students whom they can then encourage to pursue STEM majors.

The overarching goal of the project is to provide financial support and an academic and family learning community to improve retention and graduation rates among cohorts of STEM students. Questions that will guide the underlying investigation include: (1) Is parental engagement a central factor impacting student academic success and educational attainment? (2) Does the influence of parents/caretakers shape the identity of the student and build confidence in him/her? (3) Does the Parent Academy help create a stronger support network for scholars across different demographics (race/ethnicity, economic background, first generation college students)? (4) Do the family's understanding, perceptions, and attitudes towards STEM fields lead to promotion and retention of more students in the STEM disciplines? Multiple forms of field-based evidence will be used to discern the impacts of the parental academy and all curricular and co-curricular activities on the outcomes of the scholars. Results are expected to show the efficacy of a parental/family learning community for improving undergraduate STEM student outcomes. This will be a novel contribution to the STEM education knowledge base, as the implementation and study of these types of communities is often limited to PK-12 education.

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