Gender and other Determinants of Undergraduate Student Satisfaction in STEM

Ossama Elhadary

Abstract


In this research, the author is attempting to identify the factors that lead to student’ satisfaction with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program in a public college. By building a model of these factors, the author was able to test the impact of various demographic variables on students’ satisfaction. Of specific interest was the role of gender, as well as having English as a first language and how these two factors influenced student satisfaction. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, both variables were not found to have any influence, and as thus the determinants of satisfaction were the same for males and females, as well as for those who had English as a first language, and those who did not. On the other hand, students’ perception of the effectiveness of the program, the skills acquired, satisfaction with teaching, and the availability of an internship, all contributed to students’ overall satisfaction with the program. In addition, it was also found that as students mature (in terms of the number of credits they have), they tend to be more satisfied with the program. Similarly, Bachelor’s students were more satisfied than Associate’s students.


Keywords


STEM; Student Satisfaction; Gender; Internship

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References


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