General (Mathematics and Natural Sciences)
Diversity: A Nature & Scientific American Special Issue. (2014, September 16). Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/news/diversity-1.15913
This site functions as a nexus for numerous articles on diversity of all kinds in the sciences. A good place to start is the opening editorial, which functions as a call to action for increased diversity, as well as a gloss on the rest of the articles.
Bricker, L. A., Reeve, S., & Bell, P. (2014). "She Has to Drink Blood of the Snake": Culture and prior knowledge in science|health education. International Journal of Science Education, 36(9), 1457–1475. (PDF)
In this study, Bricker et al. advocate for science education that engages with students' cultural background and prior knowledge. This would aid in retaining students that may otherwise find science excludes them. While this study focuses on elementary-aged students, it continues to be important at every level of education.
Diekman, A. B., Weisgram, E. S., & Belanger, A. L. (2015). New Routes to Recruiting and Retaining Women in STEM: Policy Implications of a Communal Goal Congruity Perspective. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9(1), 52–88. (PDF)
This study examines the gender disparity in STEM fields through the context that STEM often values individual over communal achievement. The study argues that women value community-oriented goals, and STEM education can better include women by reorienting towards communal goals.
Gaughan, M., & Bozeman, B. (2015). Daring to Lead. Issues in Science & Technology, 31(2), 27–31. (PDF)
This article argues that we should refocus the problem of minority under enrollment in post-secondary science classes. It is not that university classes are poorly integrated, but that the entire educational and societal system leading up to college pushes minority and poor students away from STEM fields before they can even consider joining them. This article is helpful in reminding us of larger systems outside of the college that need vocal reformers.
Lauer, S., Momsen, J., Offerdahl, E., Kryjevskaia, M., Christensen, W., & Montplaisir, L. (2013). Stereotyped: Investigating Gender in Introductory Science Courses. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(1), 30–38. (PDF)
This study examines introductory science courses, specifically courses in biochemistry and biology, which it argues are examined less than physics in terms of gender. Through experimentation, the researchers found that there is no significant achievement gaps between genders in introductory courses, and more research needs to be done to understand why women leave the field at a much higher rate than men.
Prime, D. R., Bernstein, B. L., Wilkins, K. G., & Bekki, J. M. (2015). Measuring the Advising Alliance for Female Graduate Students in Science and Engineering: An Emerging Structure. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(1), 64–78. (PDF)
This study finds that one way to retain women STEM students is through strong relationships with advisors. A strong bond with an instructor can allow the student to express whether or not they are getting the instrumental support and instruction they need. This study is helpful because it focuses on advising, an integral collegiate experience, rather than teaching.
Reuben, E., Sapienza, P., & Zingales, L. (2014). How Stereotypes Impair Women's Careers in Science. PNAS, 111(12), 4403-4408. (PDF)
In this study, an experiment is designed that shows that women face significant discrimination when they apply to jobs in math and science fields. This report verifies the assumption that there is discrimination against women working in these fields.
Strayhorn, T. L. (2010). Undergraduate Research Participation and Stem Graduate Degree Aspirations among Students of Color. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2010(148), 85-93. (PDF)
In this report, Strayhorn outlines several statistics that give the reader a thorough look into who pursues careers in STEM-related fields. Strayhorn then moves on to show how undergraduate research opportunities work to retain STEM students through graduate school and into the workforce. This article is helpful because it neatly packages several statistics into an easy-to-read introduction to the problem of retention in science fields.