2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 61: Fostering STEM Identity and STEM Efficacy Through Engagement in Community Service

Presented at Community Engagement Division (COMMENG) Poster Session

Students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees drop out at a concerning rate. According to a 2014 report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), between 2003 and 2009, 48 percent of bachelor’s degree students entering STEM fields left these fields, with attrition rates varied across STEM disciplines. Studies show that STEM identity (the ability to see oneself as a STEM professional) can significantly impact individual success in academic and career goals. Limited studies address the impact of STEM volunteering on STEM identity and STEM efficacy (the belief in one’s ability to succeed in the field). Service through volunteering has shown potential to promote an individual’s growth and belonging to STEM professions. We hypothesize that students who engage in STEM-related service activities (SRSAs) increase their STEM identity and STEM efficacy and that the increase is proportional to the length of the service provided. To test our hypothesis, we designed short-term (an hour to a day), medium-term (up to 2 weeks), and long-term (2 weeks to months) SRSAs. We recruited participants and administered pre- and post-surveys that measured both STEM identity and STEM efficacy on the Likert scale. A total of 189 respondents were recruited from Wilbur Wright College’s Center of Excellence for Engineering and Computer Science. Only respondents who completed the pre and post-survey were included in the data analysis. The data was analyzed using a paired samples t-test using the Excel 2024 T.TEST function. Results show a significant increase in both STEM identity (4.36 to 4.55, p ≤ 0.05) and STEM efficacy (4.29 to 4.54, p ≤ 0.05) for medium-term SRSAs and a significant increase (4.08 to 4.58, p ≤ 0.05) in STEM efficacy for long-term. Short-term SRSAs show no impact on STEM identity but displayed a statistically significant increase (3.91 to 4.08, p ≤ 0.05) in STEM efficacy. Most importantly, all participants expressed a willingness to volunteer in the future. Our current findings will be enhanced by conducting additional experiments and performing a longitudinal study.

Authors

James Horatio Haller http://orcid.org/0009-0000-6694-6200 [biography]

James Haller is completing his Associate in Engineering Science (AES) at the Center of Excellence at Wilbur Wright College in the class of 2025. James was admitted to Wright as an Engineering Pathway student in the Fall semester of 2023. He plans to transfer to the University of Illinois in the Fall of 2025 and will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Jimmy Peralta [biography]

Jimmy Peralta is completing his Associate in Engineering Science (AES) at the Center of Excellence at Wilbur Wright College in the spring of 2025. Jimmy was admitted to Wright as an Engineering Pathway student in the Fall 2023 and will pursue his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Fatimah Musa [biography]

Fatimah Musa is completing her Associate in Engineering Science (AES) at the Center of Excellence at Wilbur Wright College in the class of 2026. Fatimah was admitted to Wright as an Engineering Pathway student in the Fall semester of 2024. She has been granted admission to transfer to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the Fall of 2026 and will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Doris J. Espiritu City Colleges of Chicago [biography]

Doris Espiritu is the founder of the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) School of Engineering, the Dean of the Center of Excellence for Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Chemistry at Wilbur Wright College. She also serves as the Senior Advisor to the Provost of CCC. Doris Espiritu is one of the first National Science Foundation’s research awardees under the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program. She pioneered Engineering at Wright and had grown the Engineering program enrollment by 2500% within five years leading to the creation of CCC School of Engineering. Doris founded seven student chapters of national organizations including the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and ten times Outstanding Chapter Awardee, the American Chemical Society-Wright College Chapter. Doris promotes collaboration between K-12 schools, other community colleges, 4-year institutions, non-profit organizations, and industries. Doris’ current research is to design and implement practices that develop Community of Practice (CoP), Professional Identity, and Self-Efficacy to streamline transfer from community colleges to 4-year institutions.

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