Impact of Three Years of Intervention in Culturally Adaptive Pathway to Success on S-STEM Scholars

Eun-young Kang; Matthew Jackson

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42077
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42077
Download Count: 293

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Paper Authors

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Eun-young Kang California State University, Los Angeles

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Dr. Kang has served as PI/Co-PI on several educational and research grants sponsored by NSF programs and local industries such as Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, JPL, and LA County CIO. Dr. Kang has a particular commitment to broadening participation of underrepresented faculty and student groups in computing.

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Matthew Jackson California State University, Los Angeles

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Abstract

With support from NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), the Culturally Adaptive Pathway to Success (CAPS) program aims to build an inclusive pathway to accelerate the graduation for academically talented, low-income students in Engineering and Computer Science majors at [University Name]. The campus context primarily serves underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students in the [City Name area]. The student body demographics are such that 63% are underrepresented minority (URM) students; 60% are first-generation college students; and 70% of the students are Pell grant eligible and need to work for more than 20 hours per week to support themselves. Within the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology, the average graduation rates (since 2007) are: 4 years: 4.1%, 5 years: 23.1%, and 6 years: 40.1%. The CAPS program seeks to improve on these levels of student achievement by scaffolding student development with multiple supports. The CAPS program aims to develop social and career competence in our students via three integrated interventions: (1) Mentor+, an advising strategy that trains mentors to engage with students in relation to their academic work, and the connections between work and community, (2) Peer Cohorts, providing a structure for social support among students and training models of peer mentorship, and (3) Professional Development from faculty who have been trained to support students with a holistic understanding of the antecedents of college success. To ensure success of these interventions, the program places great emphasis on developing culturally responsive advisement methods and training faculty mentors to facilitate creating a culture of culturally adaptive advising.

This paper presents the progress made in the past three project years. In particular, the paper reports the longitudinal research results to show the program's impact on scholars’ academic growth and mentors’ understanding about the culturally adaptive advisement. The research conducted qualitative data collection via focus group meetings and interviews as well as quantitative data collection using academic records and surveys. The research measured impacts on trends in GPA, graduation rates, years to graduation, and Professional Identity, using direct comparisons to a control group for each cohort as well as a quasi-experimental study based on the baseline aggregate data. The research disaggregated data by multiple factors, such as majors, genders, marginalized groups, and first-year support, to identify any salient correlations with the program support activities towards retention and graduation. The research results reported that the program made a positive impact on students to have strong engineering identity, sense of social belonging, and career interest in Engineering and Computer Science. The trends in both GPA and 4-year graduation rates provide evidence of the benefits of the program. The research findings will help enhance the CAPS program and establish a sustainable Scholars Support Program at our university, which can be implemented with scholarships funded by other sources. Successful strategies identified by research findings can be transferred to similar culturally diverse institutions to increase success for students who have socio-economic challenges.

Citation
Format

Kang, E., & Jackson, M. (2022, August), Impact of Three Years of Intervention in Culturally Adaptive Pathway to Success on S-STEM Scholars Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--42077

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - With support from NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), the Culturally Adaptive Pathway to Success (CAPS) program aims to build an inclusive pathway to accelerate the graduation for academically talented, low-income students in Engineering and Computer Science majors at [University Name]. The campus context primarily serves underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students in the [City Name area]. The student body demographics are such that 63% are underrepresented minority (URM) students; 60% are first-generation college students; and 70% of the students are Pell grant eligible and need to work for more than 20 hours per week to support themselves. Within the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology, the average graduation rates (since 2007) are: 4 years: 4.1%, 5 years: 23.1%, and 6 years: 40.1%. The CAPS program seeks to improve on these levels of student achievement by scaffolding student development with multiple supports. The CAPS program aims to develop social and career competence in our students via three integrated interventions: (1) Mentor+, an advising strategy that trains mentors to engage with students in relation to their academic work, and the connections between work and community, (2) Peer Cohorts, providing a structure for social support among students and training models of peer mentorship, and (3) Professional Development from faculty who have been trained to support students with a holistic understanding of the antecedents of college success. To ensure success of these interventions, the program places great emphasis on developing culturally responsive advisement methods and training faculty mentors to facilitate creating a culture of culturally adaptive advising.



This paper presents the progress made in the past three project years. In particular, the paper reports the longitudinal research results to show the program's impact on scholars’ academic growth and mentors’ understanding about the culturally adaptive advisement. The research conducted qualitative data collection via focus group meetings and interviews as well as quantitative data collection using academic records and surveys. The research measured impacts on trends in GPA, graduation rates, years to graduation, and Professional Identity, using direct comparisons to a control group for each cohort as well as a quasi-experimental study based on the baseline aggregate data. The research disaggregated data by multiple factors, such as majors, genders, marginalized groups, and first-year support, to identify any salient correlations with the program support activities towards retention and graduation. The research results reported that the program made a positive impact on students to have strong engineering identity, sense of social belonging, and career interest in Engineering and Computer Science. The trends in both GPA and 4-year graduation rates provide evidence of the benefits of the program. The research findings will help enhance the CAPS program and establish a sustainable Scholars Support Program at our university, which can be implemented with scholarships funded by other sources. Successful strategies identified by research findings can be transferred to similar culturally diverse institutions to increase success for students who have socio-economic challenges.
AU  - Eun-young Kang
AU  - Matthew Jackson
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Impact of Three Years of Intervention in Culturally Adaptive Pathway to Success on S-STEM Scholars
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/42077
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--42077
ER  -