Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Apr;57(2):205-18.
doi: 10.1037/a0018608.

Influence of social cognitive and ethnic variables on academic goals of underrepresented students in science and engineering: a multiple-groups analysis

Angela Byars-Winston  1 , Yannine Estrada, Christina Howard, Dalelia Davis, Juan Zalapa
Affiliations

Influence of social cognitive and ethnic variables on academic goals of underrepresented students in science and engineering: a multiple-groups analysis

Angela Byars-Winston et al. J Couns Psychol. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

This study investigated the academic interests and goals of 223 African American, Latino/a, Southeast Asian, and Native American undergraduate students in two groups: biological science and engineering (S/E) majors. Using social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), we examined the relationships of social cognitive variables (math/science academic self-efficacy, math/science outcome expectations), along with the influence of ethnic variables (ethnic identity, other-group orientation) and perceptions of campus climate to their math/science interests and goal commitment to earn an S/E degree. Path analysis revealed that the hypothesized model provided good overall fit to the data, revealing significant relationships from outcome expectations to interests and to goals. Paths from academic self-efficacy to S/E goals and from interests to S/E goals varied for students in engineering and biological science. For both groups, other-group orientation was positively related to self-efficacy and support was found for an efficacy-mediated relationship between perceived campus climate and goals. Theoretical and practical implications of the study's findings are considered as well as future research directions.

Keywords: career goals; ethnic identity; science and engineering; social cognitive career; underrepresented students.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theorized SCCT relationships with ethnic identity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Modified SCCT relationships tested in path model without ethnic identity. Note: Path coefficients (i.e., standardized regression weights) appear outside parentheses; individual path numbers appear inside parentheses. Significant paths are indicated with an “*” and appear in bold font. Bio = Biological Sciences; Eng = Engineering.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Avery D, Tonidandel S, Thomas K, Johnson C, Mack D. Assessing the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure for measurement equivalence across racial and ethnic groups. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 2007;67:877–888. doi: 10.1177/0013164406299105.
    1. Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1986.
    1. Bandura A. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman; 1997.
    1. Bell E. The bicultural life experience of career-oriented Black women. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 1990;11:459–477. doi: 10.1002/job.4030110607.
    1. Bentler P. EQS 6 structural equations program manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software, Inc; 2006.

Publication types