Do I Belong? Gender, Perceived Competence and the Development of Field Belonging for Physics Undergraduates

Y

9

Institute of Education Sciences (ED)

R305A170160

Physics; Science Education; Disproportionate Representation; Females; Undergraduate Students; Gender Differences; Competence; Self Concept; Student School Relationship; Introductory Courses; Socioeconomic Status

Women in physics and engineering continue to remain underrepresented in higher education. To illuminate underlying processes, we used data from undergraduate Physics students (N= 338) enrolled in an introductory physics course to investigate the development of field belonging and its association with gender and perceived competence. Latent change models showed a decrease in students' perceived field belonging across one academic term. While males and females did not differ in their initial level, females reported a stronger decline in their perceived field belonging. In addition, while perceived competence was associated with a higher initial level of perceived field belonging for both genders, higher levels of perceived competence buffered the decline in field belonging for females, but not for males.

As Provided

Yes

2022

ED619061