Departments seeking persistence should take inventory of interpersonal connections and build structures that encourage them¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

Based on the finding that interpersonal relationships were the most common reason cited for belonging or its absence, the authors recommend that a department "interested in increasing persistence rates among students from all demographic backgrounds" take inventory of connections among faculty and students and "providing structures that encourage strong interpersonal relationships are likely to be productive strategies."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Departmental commitment to assessing the extent to which faculty and students form positive connections

Constraints¶

• The supporting evidence is correlational interview data; the article does not test the recommended interventions

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate students of all demographic backgrounds in STEM majors

Target Learning Goals¶

• increasing persistence rates in STEM majors

Claims¶

• Four factors explain students' sense of belonging in STEM, with interpersonal relationships the most commonly cited [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Katherine Rainey, Melissa Dancy, Roslyn Mickelson, Elizabeth Stearns and Stephanie Moller. (2018). Race and gender differences in how sense of belonging influences decisions to major in STEM. International Journal of STEM Education 5:10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0115-6