Terrell L. Strayhorn

When Race and Gender Collide: Social and Cultural Capital's Influence on the Academic Achievement of African American and Latino Males.

This study regressed undergraduate grades on background traits, pre-college variables, and measures of sociocultural capital for nationally representative samples of African American and Latino male undergraduates using data from the NCES’s National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/00). Results suggest that African American and Latino males differ significantly on measures of social and cultural capital, thereby challenging normative assumptions that all racial/ethnic minorities are equal. Additionally, achievement prior to college matters most for Latino males while African American males reap significant benefits from their socioeconomic standing and involvement during college. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are highlighted.

Sentido de Pertenencia A Hierarchical Analysis Predicting Sense of Belonging Among Latino College Students

The present study estimated the influence of academic and social collegiate experiences on Latino students sense of belonging, controlling for background differences, using hierarchical analysis t...

How College Students' Engagement Affects Personal and Social Learning Outcomes

Recent calls for accountability in higher education underscore the need for evidence of the “value added” effect of college attendance. One of the espoused goals of higher education is to prepare individuals personally and socially for effective and civil participation in society. Increasingly, student affairs administrators are expected to demonstrate how campus programs and experiences serve these broader goals, but many college educators find assessment overwhelming and intimidating. Drawing on Astin’s I-E-O model and a new tool for administrators, I conduct several analyses to measure the influence of “good practice” experiences on 8,000 students’ personal/social learning. Results suggest that peer interactions, faculty-student interactions, and active learning experiences explain 24% of the variance in development. Findings hold promise in terms of future practice, policy, and research.

Work in progress — Does learning about research affect the graduate degree aspirations of STEM undergraduates? A path analysis

Path analysis techniques were employed to test a multi-stage causal model positing the influence of perceived learning gains on graduate degree aspirations among STEM undergraduates in structured undergraduate research experience (SURE) programs. Survey responses from 108 students enrolled in 4 SUREs at 3 major research universities were analyzed. Results suggest that research self-efficacy mediated, or served as an explanatory variable for, the effect of perceived learning gains in three areas on graduate degree aspirations. Other results suggest the value-added impact of SUREs on aspirations for graduate study. Findings lend support to the role of self-efficacy as explained in existing theory.

Work in progress - academic and social barriers to Black and Latino male collegians in engineering

Using a constructivist approach, in-depth qualitative interviews with 49 men were analyzed to identify academic and social barriers to their success in engineering. Three themes were identified: “Invisible Man” syndrome in the classroom, lack of support with few same-race peers and faculty, and difficulty translating curriculum into personal interests. Findings have implications for broadening STEM participation.

Work in progress — Social barriers and supports to underrepresented minorities' success in STEM fields

The present study builds upon previous research by exploring social barriers that limit URMs success-not just Black and Latino men-as well as social supports that enable the success of those who succeed academically in STEM fields. For the purposes of this study, “success” is defined as (a) persisting in college as a STEM major and (b) maintaining a 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA). The primary methods of data collection were semi-structured one-on-one and group interviews with 38 URMs majoring in STEM. Three major themes were identified as barriers: (a) Negative perceptions/stereotypes of people of color (b) Lack of same-race peers in classes/labs and (c) Negative interactions in the classroom. Two themes were identified as supports: (a) URM faculty who served as mentors/conduits and (b) sociocultural and spiritual resources. Findings hold significant promise for future practice, policy, and research.

Work in progress — Diversifying STEM: Underrepresented students' experiences in undergraduate research programs

Analysis of data collected from 108 respondents to the Survey of Summer Research Programs were conducted using descriptive and multivariate statistics to measure students satisfaction with their SURE program, their level of engagement in the research project, and learning gains achieved as a result of participating in the program. Results suggest that SURE participants are generally satisfied with the program, despite some relative dissatisfaction with ones mentor. Several learning outcomes are associated with participating in a SURE, and participation also seems to sustain or increase students interest rather than initiate new interest in graduate education. Background traits and learning gains were positive predictors of research self-efficacy, explaining approximately 52% of the variance in students confidence in their research skills.

Work in progress - factors African American males consider when choosing a graduate school: Implications for science and engineering fields

Analyzing survey data from a national sample of 672 Black men, this study investigated the factors they consider when choosing a graduate school. Academic reputation, aid awarded, and proximity to home were considered most frequently and STEM major was correlated with 5 of the factors (p≪0.05). Results offer ideas about broadening participation among Black men.

Democratic Education and Public Universities in America

The purpose of this article is to discuss the democratic function of public higher education in America and to outline the role of the curriculum and campus climate toward that end. The last section provides on-campus examples.

Do faculty-student collaborations affect achievement in engineering and technical fields? A large-scale analysis

Analyzing survey data from a national sample of 3,118 undergraduates majoring in STEM, this study examined the extent to which faculty-student collaborations affect academic achievement as measured by college grades. Results suggest a statistically significant association between faculty-student relations and grades, even after controlling for confounding influences. Also, time spent studying was positively associated with college grades. Implications for future research and practice will be discussed.