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Women's self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science: investigating USC-MESA students

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Women's self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science: investigating USC-MESA students

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WOMEN’S SELF-EFFICACY PERCEPTIONS IN MATHEMATICS AND
SCIENCE: INVESTIGATING USC-MESA STUDENTS

by

Rebecca Cheng-Shun Hong

______________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2009

Copyright 2009 Rebecca Cheng-Shun Hong

ii
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents who traveled hundreds of miles 30 years
ago to bring my two older sisters and I to a new country, in the hopes of inspiring us
to open up doors of opportunity for others one day.

iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I started this dissertation with a deep desire to learn more about the area of
access and equity for the marginalized. Along the way, I met some of the most
remarkable people who have shared their wisdom and expertise through their words,
actions, and experiences. They welcomed me into their lives and encouraged me
through the darkest times of the research and writing process. Thus, this dissertation
is also a reflection of all the people who have been instrumental to me in the process
of completing this dissertation. I am deeply grateful for each one of you.
To my mom and dad, thank you for your constant support and your faithful
prayers for me every day. You always know the right thing to say to get me back on
my feet again. Dad, your life has inspired me to look beyond the norm and has
challenged me to pursue God’s calling with boldness and courage. Mom, you are an
example of faithfulness and perseverance and have encouraged me to care for and
love other people well. Your lives have shown me that we are to live every day
purposefully. To my sisters Mick and Bun, I always wanted to be like you. The two
of you have shown me from the very beginning that girls were just as capable as
boys. Thank you for encouraging me from the first day I stepped foot onto the USC
campus. To Paul and Mike, the two of you have taught me to be generous with my
life. Thank you for always asking me about the dissertation and how I’m doing. To
Ontsie and Gourdie, my two nephews and joys of my life, you have never stopped
making me laugh even when I wanted to cry writing every chapter in this
dissertation.

iv
To my husband James, I am so blessed to have you in my life. I am grateful
for your words of encouragement and your patience in this long process. You are a
reflection of God’s restorative grace and love for me. Life is much better with you.
To my advisor Dr. Alexander Jun, you are one of the most amazing people
I’ve met. I was ecstatic when I heard that I would be working with you. Your
wisdom and guidance in this process was always timely. It has been incredible to
work with someone who is passionate about his work and has made their passion
contagious to those around him. Beyond your sage advice or expertise in the field,
you have been an example of someone who looks beyond the status quo and takes
bold steps to fulfill a greater vision. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to work
with you and know that I could not have completed this dissertation without your
guidance.
To my committee members Dr. Patricia Tobey and Dr. Kristan Venegas,
thank you for spending time on my dissertation and for your feedback. You have
challenged me to be a better writer, researcher, and practitioner. Thanks to both of
you for serving as role models for other emerging professional women.
To the USC-MESA staff and advisors, I am grateful for your openness and
willingness to let me be a part of your program. To the female USC-MESA seniors,
I was initially intimidated when I met all of you, but you welcomed me as part of
your group and shared your lives with me. For that, I am thankful. Your persistence
and resilience through some of life’s toughest times has been an encouragement to

v
me. Your life stories have impacted me more than you will ever know. I believe in
each one of you and know will make amazing engineers and scientists one day.
To my colleagues, co-workers, and friends, your belief in me to complete my
dissertation and weekly inquiry into my progress has been a source of motivation for
me.
Lastly, I want to praise God for the opportunities to learn and grow as a
person through this dissertation experience. The process has not always been easy
but He is faithful and always seems to work everything out in His perfect time.

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication …………………………………………………………… ii
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………. iii
List of Tables ……………………………………………………….. vii
Abstract …………………………………………………………….. viii
Chapter 1: Introduction ……………………………………………. 1
Chapter 2: Literature Review ……………………………………... 12
Chapter 3: Methodology ………………………………………….. 45
Chapter 4: Presentation of Data …………………………………... 75
Chapter 5: Making the Connections ……………………………… 108
Bibliography ………………………………………………………. 147
Appendices ………………………………………………………… 151

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: USC-MESA High School Matrix ……………………………….. 52
Table 2: Participant Matrix ………………………………………………... 59

viii
ABSTRACT
This study is an investigation into female high school seniors in the USC-
MESA program and how the role of self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and
science relates to their college major choice. Bandura’s theory on self-efficacy
provides the backdrop for this study. This study is qualitative and takes an
ethnographic approach incorporating 23 interviews, 2 focus groups, 49.5 hours of
observation, and document analysis. Results show that female high school seniors
participating in the USC-MESA program demonstrate a strong self-efficacy
perception in mathematics and science through their academic choices and pursuits
in high school and beyond. This finding confirms a linear approach in understanding
how courses taken in high school contribute to the trajectory of college academic
choices. It also challenges the theory of self-efficacy in math and science to examine
historically underrepresented populations in the field and the external factors that
play a key role in their persistence to pursue STEM fields in college and beyond.

1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Throughout history, discoveries in research and science have played a
significant role in the advancement of our society. Breakthroughs have included the
discovery of the planet Uranus, the finding of a vaccine for four different types of
lung cancer, and the development of COBOL, a computer business language used
across the world. The women who made these scientific and technological
discoveries broke the societal expectations of gender roles. Since World War II,
women have entered the workforce in increasingly steady numbers both before and
after marriage (Betz & Fitzgerald, 1987). Over the past five decades, researchers
have started to focus on women’s career development and their academic to career
trajectories. In 1972, the United States Department of Labor projected that women
would comprise 47% of the labor force by 2005 (Rainey & Borders, 1997). As of
2006, women made up 46.3% of the work force outside the home indicating their
contribution to the workforce as inevitable. However, it appears that the question is
not whether women will contribute to the work force, but what types of careers
women will choose and what factors influence their decision.
Although women contribute to nearly half of the entire United States work
force, they are underrepresented in mathematics and science fields (United States
Department of Labor, 2006). Researchers reported in 1997 that though the
percentage of women in the mathematics and science fields have improved, there
continues to be an underrepresentation of women in these fields (National Research

2
Council, 1997). Research has looked to academic preparation to explain the
disparity. The National Science Foundation (2005) statistics found female students
took precalculus, biology, and chemistry at higher rates than male students but were
outnumbered four to one in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM)
major enrollment upon entering college. Further, there were over 4.6 million women
enrolled in four-year institutions outnumbering their male counterparts by one
million (National Science Foundation, 2004). However, among the same group of
students, 26.3 percent of the female students expressed intentions to major in the
science and engineering fields compared to 40.8 percent of their male peers. In
2005, 17 percent of women were enrolled in engineering programs in contrast to 82.8
percent of male students (National Science Foundation, 2005). Because of the low
representation of women in traditionally male fields and the negative consequences
associated with these low percentages, researchers have attempted to investigate
underlying factors that may affect women’s persistence in STEM. These findings
have pointed researchers to look beyond academic achievement and toward self-
efficacy perceptions as a way to understand the incongruity that exists.
This study takes a look at the lives of a group of female high school seniors
who participate in the University of Southern California (USC) Mathematics
Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program. The focus of this study
examines their self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science and the role it
plays in their college major choice. This chapter is structured into five segments and
presents an overview of this study. I first present the purpose of the study and the

3
two research questions that will guide the study. Next, I present background
information including a review of literature to garner an understanding of how extant
research has examined self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science. The
literature provides a background for the next section where I present the research
design proposed to addresses gaps found in the research literature. Following the
research design, I present the findings that emerged from the personal stories of these
female USC-MESA high school seniors. The data gathered from the interviews
conducted with these students, their USC-MESA advisors, and the USC-MESA staff
members, along with observations and document analysis will be juxtaposed with the
literature that was initially presented. From the analysis of the data collected and
findings that emerged from research, policy recommendations will be presented for
educators, administrators, and researchers who focus on women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in mathematics and science and those who seek to increase the
representation of women in the STEM majors. Finally, I provide a summary with an
explanation of terms utilized in the study.
Purpose Statement
A lack of research exists in documenting the career development of women
and minorities with regard to mathematics and science self-efficacy. Studies
conducted in this area have been quantitative in design and have focused on self-
efficacy of European American women as it relates to mathematics and science.
Few studies have examined mathematics and science self-efficacy among women of
color. Therefore, a gap exists in the current literature that focuses on the career

4
development of this group of women, specifically in the area of mathematics and
science self-efficacy.
In this study, I examine minority female high school seniors and their self-
efficacy perceptions in the mathematics and science domains as it relates to their
college major choice. Within the context of a pre-college preparation program that
academically prepares historically underrepresented students to pursue a career in the
STEM fields, this study investigates components of the program that foster women’s
self-efficacy. In this study, I utilize the lens of self-efficacy to focus on female high
school seniors’ process in choosing a college major.
As the experiences of these students participating within the pre-college
preparation program progress forward, I explore their process and perceptions by
utilizing the following two questions that guide the research:
1. What is the role of Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement
(MESA) female high school seniors’ self-efficacy perceptions in math
and science when selecting a college major?
2. How do the existing components of the MESA program encourage
female students to see STEM majors as a possible academic and career
option for them?
In chapter two, I will present a review of pertinent literature focusing on self-
efficacy and its relationship to academic and career choice. Researchers have used
Albert Bandura’s (1977) construct of self-efficacy in an attempt to understand
women’s career decisions. Bandura defined self-efficacy as “people’s judgments of

5
their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain
designated types of performances” (p. 391). Students with high self-efficacy
perceptions persevered and persisted in their educational and career pursuits
compared with students with low self-efficacy (Betz & Hackett, 1983; Pajares, 2002;
Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pons, 1992). Hackett and Betz (1981) asserted
that self-efficacy is an important conceptual framework to understand women’s
vocational behavior and an important mediator in a person’s ability and persistence
in certain careers. More specifically, researchers have examined the impact of the
mathematics and science self-efficacy construct on the educational and career
choices of women (Betz & Hackett, 1983; Pajares, 2002).
Vocational and educational psychologists have examined the importance of
mathematics preparation in shaping students’ career paths (Betz & Hackett, 1983;
Hackett & Betz, 1989, Oakes, J, 1990; Zeldin & Pajares, 2000). Lent, Brown, and
Hackett (1987) proposed the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to connect
self-efficacy and outcome expectations to an individual’s academic and career
choice. Their theory has been used in the context of STEM domains in education to
interpret the disparity that exists among gender representation in those fields. Oakes
(1990), on the other hand, asserted that societal factors are integral to shaping
women’s self-efficacy perceptions in the math and science fields, which influences
their academic and career choices. She determined that no single factor could
explain the participation difference and argued that attitude, achievement, and
opportunity were also insufficient explanations for the gender disparity. Further,

6
Zeldin and Pajares (2000) set out to explore this phenomenon of women’s self-
efficacy beliefs influencing their academic and career choices from a qualitative
approach, in contrast to previous studies employing quantitative methods. The
researchers found two themes emerge from the personal accounts of 15 women
currently in a STEM career. First, the women expressed that vicarious experiences
and verbal persuasions were crucial sources to developing and maintaining self-
efficacy beliefs for women in mathematics-related careers. The second theme
confirmed that their self-efficacy beliefs help them be resilient against academic and
social obstacles, particularly in male-dominated fields.
In chapter three a discussion of research methodology, research design,
subject selection, sampling procedures, data collection and data analysis will be
presented. Excluding Zeldin and Pajares’ (2000) study with European American
women in their careers, numerous studies in the literature have conducted a
quantitative design in order to understand the role self-efficacy plays in women’s
academic and career choices. Absent from the literature is the process in which
women, particularly minorities, arrive at their academic and career choice. In this
study, I took a qualitative approach to explore the self-efficacy perceptions of female
high school seniors involved in the USC-MESA program at Site A and Site H. The
purposefully selected group of students participated in the MESA program since
their freshman year and during the course of this study applied to four-year
universities for fall enrollment immediately following their high school graduation.

7
In this study, I examined the views, opinions, and perceptions of the female
high school seniors who can discuss and presently reflect on the process of choosing
a college major and their experiences with being involved in the MESA program. I
also examined the existing programmatic components within MESA that encourage
female students to see STEM majors as a possible academic and career option for
them. These findings were drawn from individual in-depth interviews and focus
group interviews with the female MESA seniors at both sites. Observations at each
site took place during weekly MESA meetings and MESA events to better
understand the context in which the study participants exist. Lastly, document
analysis from literature pertaining to MESA USA, California MESA, and USC-
MESA were employed as a means of collecting data in this study.
I categorized the data using Creswell’s (2003) Six-Step Plan as follows: 1)
organize and prepare data, 2) read data, 3) code and chunk data, 4) generate
descriptions, categories, or themes, 5) identify representation, 6) make interpretation.
In order to ensure that the data collected was trustworthy, I triangulated the data from
interviews, observations, and document analysis to ensure consistency in the
findings. In addition, I validated my findings and checked for credibility and
reliability of the data by crosschecking through multiple-data sources such as
individual and group interviews, observations, and document analysis. Further, I
employed member-checking by obtaining feedback on data from all the participants’
interviews conducted to ensure that the reports accurately reflect the voices and
intentions of the participants. Interviewees had the opportunity to review the data

8
collected from their interviews and provide feedback and clarification of their
responses. Data analysis occurred as the study was conducted from August to
November with final analysis of any remaining information in the month of
December.
The study found that the 12 female USC-MESA high school seniors possess
a strong personal awareness of their present abilities and the future academic
capabilities. Their individual unique experiences have lent themselves to getting
involved in the USC-MESA program on their high school campus and striving
toward going to college and pursuing a STEM major. As first-generation college
goers, these participants have faced challenges in their path toward college. These
challenges have included breaking the stereotype of the expectations of women in
their neighborhoods and navigating the college application process. Concurrently,
they have found a “home” with the MESA program at their schools that strives to
inspire and prepare them to defy the expectations of their neighborhoods. The
components of the USC-MESA program that have served as an impetus in their
aspirations for college have been the community they have found among their peers
who share the same interests and academic pursuits. In addition, the environment
fostered by the USC-MESA staff and advisors that communicates messages of hope
for their future despite their present reality keeps these female seniors focused on
getting to college and one day creating a better future for their families.
In analyzing the data collected, the findings revealed that the female students
exemplified the ability to judge their own academic capabilities in order to support

9
their rationale for choosing a STEM major, as Bandura’s (1986) self-efficacy theory
asserts. The linear progression in the math and science courses taken by the
participants in high school aligned with Maple and Stage’s (1991) linear path
analysis model that hypothesized that one’s academic choice in their sophomore year
of high school, particularly in their math and science experience, was a significant
predictor of their college major choice. However, the data also highlighted the gaps
in literature. The experiences and stories of the female participants revealed that the
connections they have with their environment play a role in their decisions about the
future. Though literature has addressed environmental and societal factors as
influences on women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math and science, the actual
neighborhood environment has not been considered as a factor that influences
students’ academic pursuits. Further, the data revealed that both verbal and non-
verbal messages communicated to the female seniors play a large role in their
academic pursuits. Zeldin and Pajares (2000) addressed the importance of verbal
persuasions particularly for women who pursue traditionally male dominated fields.
The participants in the study supported this hypothesis through their recollection of
both verbal and non-verbal messages they have received from parents, family
members, and teachers. Their stories reveal how voices of these integral members of
their lives have been instrumental in helping them in their college pursuits or have
played a role in discouraging their interest in the STEM fields.
Based on the findings from the study, policy recommendations have been
formulated for USC-MESA and can be applied to other pre-college programs that

10
strive to increase the underrepresented populations in higher education. In particular,
the recommendations are geared toward addressing the role of women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in math and science in relation to their college major choice but can also
be applied toward increasing access for historically disadvantaged populations. They
are as follows: 1) cultivate parental involvement for parents of USC-MESA students;
2) garner institutional support; 3) maintain high program standards; 4) increase
partnerships with other USC programs to improve retention.
Summary
Within the context of this introduction I have presented highlights from all
five chapters of this study. They included: 1) the importance of this study, 2)
literature concerning self-efficacy in relation to academic and career choice, 3)
research methodology and design, 4) study findings, and 5) data analysis and policy
recommendations. This dissertation aims not only to provide an understanding into
the role of female USC-MESA seniors’ perceptions in math and science as it relates
to their college major choice, but also to understand the effectiveness of USC-MESA
program components as it relates to the former goal. Following this section are the
definitions of terms used in this study.
Definition of Terms
The following definitions and terminology appear throughout the dissertation
and are defined here to provide the reader with information about the concepts that I
will be referring to within the study.

11
Academic achievement: is defined in this study as the attainment of
academic outcomes outlined by the school as it relates to the students’ performance
as it is determined by the educational rating system.
Academic self-efficacy: refers to a student’s perceived capability to perform
a given academic task at a desired level of mastery.
College preparation program: refers to outreach activities designed to
identify and assist underrepresented students in their pathways to college such as
educational institutions, state and federal governments, and local communities that
fund these programs. For this study, this term is used interchangeably with pre-
college program.
Mathematics self-efficacy: refers to a situational or problem-specific
assessment of an individual’s confidence in her ability to successfully perform or
accomplish a specific mathematics task or problem.
Minority: is used to refer to the collective of African American, Latino,
Asian and Native American students.
Outcome expectations: means a personal belief about probable responses to
certain situations.
Perceptions: in this study refers to students’ views toward math and science
as a reflection of their individual characteristics and their learning experiences.
Self-efficacy: belief in one’s capability to organize and execute the courses of
action required to manage or achieve a prospective situation or task.

12
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
The research and educational literature generated in the last 30 years
confirms the importance women’s self-efficacy in academic attainment, particularly
in the areas of mathematics and science (Pajares, 1996; Zeldin & Pajares, 2000).
Multiple researchers have determined children’s beliefs in their efficacy to regulate
their own learning and to persist in difficult subject matter, which can affect their
academic motivation, interest and scholastic achievement (Bandura, Barbanaelli,
Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996, 2001; Pajares, 1996; Zimmerman, Bandura, &
Martinez-Pons, 1992). Taking college preparation courses, graduating from
secondary education, and persisting onto postsecondary education are indicators of
academic self-efficacy. In addition, completion of postsecondary programs is an
additional more accurate persistence measure of one’s self-efficacy in academia.
According to the United States Department of Education’s National Center
for Education Statistics (NCES), female public high school graduates in the year
2000 were more likely than their male classmates to have taken geometry, algebra II,
precalculus, biology, AP/honor biology, and chemistry and were more likely than
their male peers to enroll in postsecondary education the following fall semester. In
2001, females earned more than half of all bachelor degrees awarded with the
proportion of African American and Hispanic bachelor degree recipients who were
female comprising a higher proportion than European American degree recipients
who were female.

13
Despite the increase in women attending college over the last two decades,
the percentage of females majoring in the math, science, and engineering fields are
still disproportionate to their male counterparts (Zeldin & Pajares, 2000). It is
important to determine the impact self-efficacy in women’s academic attainment and
its capacity in their pursuit of math, science, and engineering majors. To that end,
the purpose of this literature review is to: 1) examine the research findings of
relevant literature regarding perceptions of self-efficacy and its role in academic
attainment, 2) discuss self-efficacy as it relates to academic and career aspiration, 3)
examine women’s self-efficacy as it relates to math and science, and 4) discuss gaps
in literature when examining self-efficacy.
Self-Efficacy: Perceptions and Academic Attainment
Self-efficacy defined as people’s judgments of their capabilities to produce
and execute designated levels of performance is central to theories of human
motivation and behavior (Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy, 2004; Zeldin & Pajares, 2000).
According to Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, people are more likely to
perform tasks they believe they are capable of accomplishing and less likely to
engage in tasks where they feel less competent. Self-efficacy beliefs also determine
the choices students make, the time and effort they invest in the task, their
persistence, and their resiliency when faced with an obstacle. In addition to their
effort, persistence, and resiliency, self-efficacy beliefs also influence the amount of
stress and anxiety students experience when they engage in a task (Pajares, 2002).
Self-efficacy is distinct from other motivation constructs such as self-concept. Self-

14
efficacy is a context specific-assessment of competence to perform a particular task
whereas self-concept or self-esteem is measured at a broader level of specificity and
includes the feelings and evaluations of self-worth associated with the behavior in
question (Pajares, 2002). The research examined here will solely focus on self-
efficacy.
Self-efficacy perceptions have been argued to stem from four sources.
Bandura (1986, 1997) argued that the most important source comes from the
interpretation of one’s past performance, which he called mastery experiences. The
mastery of a task creates a strong sense of efficacy to accomplish a similar task in the
future, especially when continued success is experienced. However, repeated failure
can lower efficacy perceptions, particularly when the failure cannot be attributed to
external circumstances. For instance, when a student begins to struggle and fail in a
particular academic domain early in the course of events and cannot attribute their
failure to lack or effort or factors outside of their control, their self-efficacy
perceptions in that domain will begin to diminish. Conversely, if the student
experiences continued success in the area, strong efficacy beliefs will be established
which occasional failures are unlikely to undermine.
The second source of self-efficacy information comes from the individual’s
experience observing someone similar in capability performing the task in question.
The behavior of models, in particular, are informative in situations where individuals
have had little experience to form judgment on their competency. In particular,
vicarious experiences contribute to individual beliefs about one’s own capability.

15
For example, according to Zeldin and Pajares (2000), students who are exposed early
to mathematics-related content by relatives who work in math-based fields often find
this domain comfortable and familiar. Their vicarious experiences with family
members create a positive self-efficacy perception in the math and science areas.
Verbal persuasions are another source where individuals draw their beliefs of
personal competence. Verbal messages and social encouragement help individuals
expend the additional effort and steadfast persistence needed to succeed. According
to Bandura (1977), these social messages convince people that they are capable of
succeeding at a particular task and affirm their competence. Girls who receive
encouragement from parents and teachers to persist and persevere in male-dominated
academic domains will develop higher mathematics self-efficacy perceptions in the
midst of academic and social obstacles (Zeldin & Pajares, 2000). Conversely, verbal
persuasions can also undermine one’s efficacy beliefs and dissuade individuals from
succeeding at a task.
Individuals look to their affect as a fourth source of information about their
capabilities. Their physical and emotional states are often indicators of susceptibility
to failure, such as stress and tension, or signals of optimism. Individuals with high
self-efficacy will experience feelings of serenity in approaching difficult tasks and
activities while low self-efficacy beliefs may foster emotions of stress and depression
(Pajares, 1996). Therefore, one’s affect is a strong determinant of self-efficacy and
predictor of academic accomplishment in a particular domain.

16
Bandura’s (1986) hypothesized sources of information about capabilities
have been used in educational research to investigate the relationship of self-efficacy
and academic attainment. Additionally, researchers (Bandura et al., 1996, 2001;
Pajares, 2002; Zimmerman et al., 1992) examined the role of self-efficacy in
academic attainment by focusing on an individual’s level of confidence measured
through course pursuits, engagement, perseverance, and resiliency. An individual’s
self-efficacy perception in academic domains will either create a sense of confidence
to pursue further study and persist in light of obstacles or, conversely, create tension
for the individual, deterring their continued pursuit. The next section will further
discuss research in the role of self-efficacy and academic attainment.
The Role of Self-Efficacy in Academic Attainment
The role of self-efficacy is critical in students’ academic and achievement
goals. Various researchers in their writings have cited the importance of positive
self-efficacy beliefs in academic attainment (Bandura et al., 1996, 2001; Hackett &
Betz, 1989; Oakes, 1990; Pajares, 1996, 2000) and the degree to which students are
motivated and become self-regulated learners (Zimmerman et al., 1992).
Zimmerman, Bandura, and Martinez-Pons (1992) posit that perceived self-efficacy
influences the level of goal challenge people set for themselves, the amount of effort
they put forth, and their persistence in the face of difficulty. Self-regulated learners
exhibit these processes. Their level of self-regulation to achieve their goal will
depend on their self-efficacy beliefs.

17
Zimmerman and colleagues (1992) conducted a study using path analysis
procedures to examine the role of self-efficacy beliefs in goal setting for academic
attainment and found a strong positive correlation. In their study, 102 high school
students were assessed on their perceived capabilities to achieve in nine academic
domains. Students set their academic goals in the form of a final grade based on
their personal beliefs of efficacy in each academic domain. At the end of the study,
students’ academic goals were measured to find whether they paralleled their self-
efficacy beliefs. This study yielded significant results supporting a correlation
between perceived self-efficacy and academic goals, in which their prior
achievement was considered. The higher the perceived self-efficacy, the higher the
goals students set for themselves. In this study, self-efficacy influenced not only the
setting of academic goals, but also the attainment of these goals. A significant causal
path was found in this study where students who perceived themselves in control of
their learning were more efficacious in mastering their academic subjects while
raising and obtaining their academic goal.
Pajares (2002) confirmed the role self-efficacy beliefs play in students’
academic goals and attainments. He speculated that the process of creating and
using self-efficacy beliefs is intuitive. Drawing from previous research conducted on
self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997; Pajares, 1997), the study concluded that self-efficacy
determines the amount of effort, persistence, and resilience students will expend in
academics. In school, academic performances are a result of what students come to
believe about what they can accomplish, which explains why students’ academic

18
performances may differ among students with similar abilities. School is the primary
setting where cognitive abilities are cultivated and evaluated, in addition to where
academic self-regulatory skills are developed and maintained. The ability to use
these skills is closely connected to both achievement and success in school, as well
as a positive self-belief required for success. Pajares (2002) supported Pintrich and
De Groot’s (1990) theory that students need to have the will and the skill to be
successful in the classroom. The mastering of academic subjects exemplified
through a course grade is one example of perceived capability.
Self-efficacy differs from other expectancy beliefs in that it is generally
assessed at a more microanalytical level than other expectancy constructs and are in
reference to some type of goal (Pajares, 1996). Self-efficacy judgments are both task
and situation specific where individuals take these judgments and form some type of
goal. Researchers have commonly assessed self-efficacy beliefs by asking
individuals to report the level, generality, and strength of their confidence to
accomplish and succeed at a particular task. In academics, students may be asked to
rate their confidence to solve specific mathematics problems (Hackett & Betz, 1989),
perform a specific reading or writing task, engage in a self-regulatory strategies
within a certain context (Bandura, 1989), or succeed in a domain-specific career
(Zeldin & Pajares, 2000).
Pajares (1996) asserts that in academic settings, self-efficacy research has
focused on two major areas. One area examined the relationship between efficacy
beliefs and college major and career choices, particularly in the areas of science and

19
mathematics. Researchers have claimed that mathematics self-efficacy of college
undergraduates is a strong predictor of their mathematics interest demonstrated
through their selection of math-related courses and major (Hackett & Betz, 1989).
The second area of research investigated efficacy beliefs and academic motivation
and achievement. Research in this area has suggested that self-efficacy beliefs are
correlated with self-beliefs, motivation, academic choices, changes, and achievement
(Pajares, 1996).
The extant literature has connected one’s self-efficacy to academic
motivation and achievement. When self-efficacy in academic motivation is further
extended into college major and career choice, a linear model is constructed.
According to researchers in mathematics self-efficacy, individuals who possess a
strong self-efficacy perception in mathematics are predicted to pursue math-related
courses and majors in college (Hackett & Betz, 1989). When examined in a linear
fashion, it is also assumed that individuals who are self-efficacious in their academic
major will continue to choose a career in that field. In the next section, the literature
presented will examine how academic self-efficacy leads to career choices and how
gender roles and stereotypes affect these decisions.
Self-Efficacy: Academic to Career Aspirations
According to social cognitive theory, individuals are self-regulating agents of
their psychosocial development (Bandura, 1997), which mediates their perceived
efficacy to choose their academic career aspirations. The ability to envision the
possible outcome of a particular action assists individuals in making choices. People

20
will strive to gain potential beneficial outcomes and avoid adverse ones. Choices, if
achieved successfully, guarantee valued outcomes or expectancy-value. The
decision not to pursue these choices stems from one’s doubt of their self-efficacy in
the task (Bandura, 1989). Research literature suggests that a linear model occurs in
understanding self-efficacy as it relates to academic and career aspirations. In other
words, efficacy beliefs predict occupational choice and the level of academic
attainment for those pursuits when other variables such as prior level of academic
achievement and interests are controlled (Bandura et al., 2001). For instance, male
college students have an equally high sense of efficacy for traditionally male-
dominated and female-dominated occupations. Conversely, female students judge
themselves to be more efficacious in occupations traditionally held by women but
have a weaker sense of self-efficacy that they can accomplish the educational and
career requirements of occupations dominated by males. The different occupational
efficacy perceptions held by male and female college students are notable since the
two groups do not significantly differ in their actual verbal and quantitative ability on
standardized tests (Betz & Hackett, 1981). In addition, women had a high sense of
self-efficacy for quantitative activities that were found in traditionally feminine
activities but low self-efficacy perceptions when these activities were embedded in
scientific pursuits (Betz & Hackett, 1983). Based on this research, Bandura and his
colleges (2001) examined other explanations for women’s occupational preferences,
which are presented in the next section.

21
Sociocultural Perspectives: Gender Roles and Stereotypes
Bandura and his colleagues (2001) conducted a longitudinal study using a
staggered multiple cohort design to examine the relationship between perceived
academic self-efficacy and perceived occupational efficacy. In this study,
researchers examined 272 children ranging in age from 11-15 years at two middle
schools located near Rome, Italy. Participants were measured on their perceived
self-efficacy for academic achievement, academic aspirations, and perceived
occupational self-efficacy. Bandura and his colleagues (2001) found that all three
forms of children’s perceived self-efficacy contribute to their beliefs in their
occupational efficacy. Participants who possessed a secure sense of academic
efficacy believed they would be efficacious for careers in science and technology. In
addition, their sense of occupational self-efficacy was grounded more in their beliefs
about their academic capabilities than their actual academic achievement. The study
showed that the children did not differ in their overall perceived academic self-
efficacy, but deeper analysis showed that when results were disaggregated, gender
differences existed in relationship to perceived career self-efficacy. In this study,
Bandura and colleagues (2001) found that boys had a higher sense of self-efficacy in
than girls for careers in science and technology. Girls judged themselves to be more
efficacious for careers in education, health-related fields, and occupations involving
social services. The limitations of this study included the potential gender
differentiation that may exist in Italian society. The impact of external influences on
women’s self-beliefs in academic and career attainment will be discussed further in

22
this review. However, Bandura et al (2001) postulated that findings from this study
of perceived self-efficacy beliefs on perceived occupational self-efficacy are
generalizable and applicable among American children.
Eccles’ (1986) research on gender roles and women’s achievement
recognized that women’s underrepresentation particularly in mathematics and
science domains have been difficult to ignore. In examining psychological factors
that shape women’s academic and career pursuits, she argued that the
underrepresentation in the field was a choice made by women. The achievement
model that was proposed sought to explain women’s educational and occupational
choices from a values perspective. Contrary to Bandura’s (2001) theory that choices
are based on outcome expectations and self-efficacy, Eccles’s (1986) model claimed
that choices are influenced most directly by the value the individual places on
choices and the degree of success that can be obtained. The model assumes that
educational and vocational choices are guided by: 1) one’s expectation for success of
the options perceived as appropriate, 2) the relation of these options both to short and
long-range goals and to one’s identity and psychological needs, 3) the individual’s
gender-role and self-schema, 4) the tradeoff of investing in one activity over another.
Eccles’s (1986) model attempted to shed a different perspective on gender
differences in achievement patterns and move away from a female deficit
perspective. According to Eccles (1986), a female deficit perspective measures
women’s achievement against men’s achievement without considering that there is a
conscious choice made by women toward an alternate activity rather than avoidance.

23
Eccles’ (1986) model that analyzes women’s “underachievement” from a choice
rather than a deficit perspective was first tested through a longitudinal study on
precollege students’ achievement beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors and found that
males and females of similar math ability have different perceptions on their math
ability leading them to different decisions regarding future math courses. Female
students who believed that effort was the determinant of success in the present math
course had lower expectations of success for math in the following year. Eccles
(1986) postulated that capable women might not enter male-dominated occupations
such as engineering, due to perceptions of what causes success and failure in male
versus female-dominated fields. The study further examined perceptions and
stereotypes associated with women who pursue male-dominated fields.
For example, Eccles (1986) used this model to conduct three quantitative
studies of college women to examine the relationship between attributional patterns
and gender stereotypes of occupations, career goals, and subjective task value. The
study results made three broad claims: 1) females selected female-stereotyped
occupations because they were attracted to these occupations, 2) women seeking low
math related careers did not lack confidence in their math ability and did not believe
math was any harder than did women seeking more highly related math careers, 3)
women selected for this study felt the mother-role was extremely important and any
occupation threatening these women’s ability to become successful mothers would
not be very appealing. However, it is critical to examine the limitations that exist in
Eccles’ (1986) study of college women. The study conducted was a snapshot of the

24
women during only one moment in their college careers. No mention was made of
their socialization experiences from childhood that impacted their perspectives and
perceived academic and career options. The findings from this study surfaced a need
to examine the impact of gender-role socialization and its influence on one’s
consideration of various academic and career opportunities.
Farmer (1987) proposed another model to explain the gender differences in
career and achievement motivation in her multivariate model, extended from her
original model introduced in 1976. The model was based on Bandura’s (1978) social
learning theory that sought to explain human behavior through reciprocal
interactions between behavioral, cognitive, and environmental influences. Farmer’s
(1987) model assumes that these interacting factors impact an individual’s various
achievement and career motivations. Her model was tested with 1,863 ninth-and
12
th
-graders from six high schools across the state of Illinois. Students were
proportionally representative of African American, Latino, and European American
groups. Students’ background, personal, and environmental factors were examined
to determine its impact on their motivations toward career aspirations. In her
findings, career motivation was most influenced by personal factors such as self-
esteem and effort attributions. Environmental factors translated as parent and
teacher support in addition to background factors including demographics and
academic ability contributed less significantly to career motivation compared to
personal factors. Farmer’s (1987) study asserted that career motivation was
influenced for females by math ability, which contradicted Eccles’ (1986) study

25
where math ability was not a differentiating factor for career selection. However,
both Farmer (1987) and Eccles’ (1986) studies suggested that the commitment to
homemaking contributed significantly to women’s career motivation in comparison
to their male peers. Through both studies, the societal expectations of gender roles at
home and work during this time presented a greater challenge for women than for
their male peers when faced with career choices. In the same year that Farmer
(1987) published the results of her study, researchers (Lent, Brown, & Hackett,
1987) sought to develop another theory to explain career choice.
Social Cognitive Career Theory
Derived from Bandura’s (1997) general social cognitive theory, Lent, Brown,
and Hackett (1987) proposed the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to connect
self-efficacy, outcome expectations and personal goals to an individual’s academic
and career choice. The SCCT suggests that career choice is influenced by four
similar influences of self-efficacy: 1) personal performance accomplishments, 2)
vicarious learning, 3) social persuasion, 4) physiological states and reactions. Lent
and colleagues (1987) purport that career goals evolve beginning in early childhood
and continue through adulthood. Individuals continuously narrow their goal based
upon successful endeavors examined through their self-efficacy beliefs and value
reinforced by the likelihood of success. The fewer perceived barriers to success, the
more likely one will pursue their career choice. If barriers toward their career appear
to be significant, a weaker interest and choice to pursue that career occurs (Lent et al,
1987).

26
Social Cognitive Career Theory: Science Technology Engineering, and Mathematics
The social cognitive career theory differs from other career theories because
focus is placed one’s belief about oneself. Self-efficacy and social cognitive theory
have been used in the context of science, technical, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) domains in education. Researchers have made STEM a central focus in
studies of self-efficacy in academics and career achievement to interpret and
understand the factors behind the underrepresentation of women in these academic
and career fields (Betz & Hackett, 1989, Pajares, 1996, 2002, Bandura et al., 2001,
Oakes, 1990). More research still needs to be aimed at explaining the
underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in these fields. Research has
focused on surfacing a theoretical rationale to explain the lack of women in STEM
fields and moreover, interventions that might advance increased representation of
women and individuals of color in these fields. In the following section a review of
literature related to the role of self-efficacy in STEM academic and career aspirations
will be presented.
Hackett and Betz (1989) explored the relationship between mathematical
performance and self-efficacy, attitudes toward mathematics, and the choice of
mathematics-related majors of 153 women and 109 men in their undergraduate
studies. From a path analysis perspective, the researchers asserted that mathematics
self-efficacy is a greater predictor of a mathematics-related college major than
gender, mathematic ability, or math anxiety. Five instruments measuring career-

27
plans, mathematic self-efficacy, ability, attitude and gender role inventory were used
to examine the relationship between mathematical self-efficacy and career choice.
Pearson product-moment correlation and regression analysis were used to
interpret the findings of the study. The results suggested that no statistical
significance was found in comparing self-efficacy and performance between men
and women. The study supported mathematics-related self-efficacy expectations as
predictors of mathematics-related educational and career choices for both genders.
In addition, male students who reported higher mathematics-related self-efficacy and
more years of high school mathematics preparation were more likely to declare a
science-related college major. The same was not asserted for female students
through multiple regression analysis. However, the study did not support the
proposition that women’s self-efficacy expectations are unrealistically low when
compared to their actual performance according to the set of math-related skills.
The following year, researchers continued to examine women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in mathematics as it relates to academic and career choice.
Oakes (1990) continued to examine women’s mathematics-related self-
efficacy as it relates to educational and career choices through a review of research
in education. She examined the scientific pipeline and how women and minorities
fare in this pipeline. Three factors were critical to retaining women and minorities:
opportunity, achievement, and choice. In support of Lent and colleagues (1987),
Oakes (1990) supported the premise that schooling experience beginning with
elementary school through high school and eventually college is integral to retaining

28
women and minorities in the scientific pipeline. Research on minorities and women
attempt to explain their underrepresentation in the mathematics-related and science
majors in college by examining their course choices in high school. In comparison
to male students, minorities and women in high school shift toward a more negative
attitude about math and science and in turn take fewer science and math courses than
male students. Oakes (1990) sought to examine factors contributing to the negative
attitudes pursuing issues of stereotypes associated with math and science
achievement.
Similar to studies conducted a few years prior by Farmer (1987) and Eccles
(1986), Oakes (1990) addressed issues of stereotyping in math and science fields and
social costs it has on women who aspire to careers in those domains. In the review
of research, Oakes (1990) found attitude, achievement, and opportunity insufficient
to account for the disparity in participation among minorities and women in
mathematics and science. It was determined that no single factor could account for
the participation differences. The review of research pointed out other possible
causes and consequences for the disparity. Societal factors such as parents, school
resources, and teachers were suggested as influences that shape the attitudes of
minorities and women toward mathematics and science. Oakes (1990) asserted that
these societal factors are integral in shaping how efficacious individuals perceive
themselves to be in these academic domains. Lent et al (2003) extended the
examination of minorities and women’s self-efficacy perceptions to the context of
college academic pursuits.

29
Lent and his colleagues (2003) conducted a study using the social cognitive
career theory to predict engineering interests and major choice goals among students
at two historically Black and one Predominantly White Institutions. Four hundred
and eighty-seven students in introductory engineering courses at three universities
were measured on their academic interests, goals, self-efficacy, outcome
expectations, and environmental support and barriers related to their choice in the
engineering major through a survey developed by the researchers. Prior to
conducting the study, the researchers hypothesized that self-efficacy is related to
outcome expectations with higher self-efficacy promoting higher outcome beliefs
and interest in domains where people are capable of performing at their own desired
expectations and achieve at their own anticipated outcomes.
The findings in their study reported that women had the same level of
academic self-efficacy as their male peers and perceived more social support than
men. The perceived support, such as the Society of Women Engineers, may be one
factor that contributed to women’s self-efficacy in a “non-traditional” major. In
addition, the support of same-race mentoring and (faculty and peer) role models at
the historically Black university was viewed as an advantage for those expecting
support in their major. Both universities developed supportive environments for
women that were received by the participants as helpful in eliminating social barriers
in a non-traditional major. Findings from this study also supported the SCCT model
as student self-efficacy played a role in their major choice. The study suggested

30
further research in how environmental support and barriers impact women’s choice
toward science and engineering majors.
Women’s Self-Efficacy in Math and Science: External Influences
The research presented thus far has examined women’s self-efficacy in the
math and sciences as central to their academic and career choice and pursuits. Self-
efficacy has also been defined by Pajares (1996) as a judgment an individual makes
about oneself that is task and situation specific in reference to some type of goal. For
example, in school, students will mediate their perceived efficacy when choosing
their academic pursuits. The literature has depicted a linear model in understanding
self-efficacy as it relates to academic and career aspirations. The social cognitive
career theory (SCCT) research conducted by Lent and his colleagues (1987)
suggested that individuals continue to narrow their academic and career goal based
upon their personal belief of success in the area. The individual will gauge their self-
efficacy perception and be affirmed to continue their pursuit if there is a likelihood
of success. In examining SCCT in relation to science, technology, engineering, and
math fields the existing literature pointed to gender stereotypes playing a role in
women’s academic and career aspirations. Though no single explanation has been
determined for the disparity in participation among minorities and women in
mathematics and science, researchers have pointed out other possible reasons for the
disparity. Oakes (1990) hypothesized societal factors such as parents and teachers as
influences that shape how efficacious individuals will perceive themselves to be in
these fields.

31
This section examines studies that have focused on the role self-efficacy
plays in women’s academic and career choices in the quantitative fields. The impact
of parents and teachers as external influences contributing to women’s self-efficacy
beliefs are examined. Lastly, challenges to the existing theories are presented with a
summary of this chapter in closing.
In a study of college students who pursue science and engineering courses,
high self-efficacy was influential to academic persistence necessary to maintain the
required caliber of academic achievement (Lent, Brown, & Larkin, 1984).
Researchers have attempted to examine the role self-efficacy plays in women who
pursue “non-traditional” academic and career aspirations. The research presented in
this section seeks to examine self-efficacy beliefs of women who pursue STEM
majors and careers and the impact environmental support and barriers have on their
pursuit.
In examining influences on the choice of mathematics and science-related
majors and pursuits, Maple and Stage (1991) explored causal relationships between
high school experience factors, for African American and European American, male
and female students. An analysis of a longitudinal model was used to examine math
and science major choice upon entrance to college for these students. Since
examining factors influencing women’s self-efficacy is the primary focus in the
analysis of my study, findings however, for African American and European
American male students will not be addressed.

32
Maple and Stage’s (1991) study examined internal factors such as math
attitudes and performance as well as external factors such as parents’ level of
education, parental and school influence to explain the underrepresentation of
women and minorities in quantitatively based fields of study. The research questions
that guided the study centered on background, ability, and high school experiences as
they relate to the choice of a quantitative major and differences in experience
patterns between male and female, and African American and European American
students leading to a quantitative major. The study examined the participants in four
distinct subgroups by race and gender such as African American male or European
female, rather than comparison by gender alone. Thus, results of the study were
analyzed by comparing the four subgroups against each other. The researchers based
their study upon Oakes’ (1990) suggestion for future research in examining causal
relationship among high school achievement and course-taking, and educational
attainment for women and minorities.
Maple and her colleague (1991) evaluated their quantitative data using a
linear path analysis model and concluded that differences existed among groups.
While parental influence was positively related to taking math and science courses, it
did not influence a preference for further pursuing a quantitatively based major.
However, the academic choice of study in one’s sophomore year of high school,
particularly their math and science experience, was a significant predictor of the field
of study in college. In addition, attitudes their sophomore year toward math and

33
science was also a significant predictor of further persistence in math and science
courses.
In African American females, mother’s education surfaced as the only factor
that was a significant predictor of choice of major. In addition, parent involvement
in planning their child’s high school program did not have a positive correlation with
the high school math and science taken. Due to the quantitative nature of the study,
the effects of parental influence and involvement were not further elaborated.
This study supported the notion that the mathematics and science pipeline
was important to students choosing a quantitative major in college, particularly the
choice of courses taken their sophomore year of high school. Maple and Stage
(1991) failed to further examine whether women’s self-efficacy beliefs improved in
relation to persisting on the math and science pipeline. However, the researchers
hypothesized that women and minorities who have taken preparatory high school
mathematics courses but have scored low on mathematics placement exams will
leave the scientific majors at greater rates than other students once they go to college.
Lack of success in college mathematics shaping their beliefs about themselves was
the reason for the lack of persistence.
In further examining direct and indirect influences on women’s selection of
quantitative undergraduate fields of study, Ethington and Wolfle (1988) conducted a
study using quantitative measure to examine factors that influence women’s choice
of undergraduate fields of study using a structural equation model. The analyses
stemming from the study were based on 1,312 African American and European

34
American women who participated in three waves of surveys and had continued on
to attend a postsecondary educational institution after high school.
Ethington and Wolfle (1988) examined socioeconomic status (SES), race,
self-concept, locus of control, sophomore choice, and attitude toward math, parental
influence, school influence, sex-role orientation, and family orientation as predictor’s
of one’s high school grades, science achievement, and mathematics achievement.
Using path analysis, variables were measured and analyzed to find a correlation with
women’s college major choice. Results from Ethington and Wolfle’s (1988) study
demonstrated that the number of math and science courses taken in high school was
the most influential variable for women pursuing a college major in that field. In
addition, SES, race, sophomore choice, and attitudes were identified as having
significant direct effects on field of study. The researchers identified SES, locus of
control, sophomore choice, and attitudes as having indirect effects to choice of study.
Similar to Maple and Stage’s (1991) study noting attitude as a predictor of further
course pursuit, Ethington and Wolfe (1988) wanted to examine how attitude
indirectly plays a role in course pursuit and field of study. The positive indirect
effect on field of study seen from attitude toward mathematics indicate that women
in their study who possessed a positive attitude toward mathematics were more likely
to select a quantitative college major. The role of attitude in their model suggests
that negative attitudes toward mathematics result in women avoiding fields that
require the greatest mathematics ability.

35
Similar to Maple and Stage’s (1991) study, the mathematics and science
pipeline can be assumed to be integral to whether women choose a quantitative based
major. However, according to the nation’s educational statistics, female students are
more likely than their male classmates to take mathematics and science courses in
high school (National Science Foundation, 2005). According to Maple and Stage
(1991) and Ethington and Wolfle’s (1988) assertions from their study and premise
behind social cognitive theory, women would not be underrepresented in quantitative
majors in college and careers in that domain. To close the gap in these studies and
provide clearer understanding of the complexity behind women’s self-efficacy in
quantitative fields, Zeldin and Pajares (2000) took a qualitative approach to
understanding the phenomenon by examining how self-efficacy and external factors
influenced women to persist through mathematic and science majors and continue
working in careers involving their field of study.
Zeldin and Pajares (2000) conducted a study exploring personal stories of
women who chose to study a STEM major and continued to excel in careers within
that domain. The central construct of their study was based on Bandura’s (1986)
social cognitive theory focusing on women’s self-efficacy. An attempt to understand
the way in which self-efficacy beliefs influenced their academic and career choices
in addition to examining the way in which their self-efficacy beliefs were developed
was the center in analyzing the 15 personal stories.
Zeldin and Pajares (2000) chose a qualitative approach in interviewing these
15 women currently in mathematics, science, or technology-related careers to allow

36
for unique narratives to emerge through an open-ended interview protocol. Previous
research in the areas of self-efficacy examined self-efficacy beliefs through surveys.
The researchers in this study sought to find thick and rich personal accounts of each
woman’s academic and career history through this narrative process. Through the
accounts of each woman’s story, the researchers found two themes emerged from
analysis of the participants’ responses.
The first theme was that vicarious experiences and verbal persuasions were
integral sources in developing and maintaining self-efficacy beliefs for women in
mathematics-related careers. Participants recounted vicarious experiences and verbal
encouragement to a greater degree than performance attainments. The women
shared receiving verbal persuasion dealing with particular mathematics-related
content area with significant individuals in their lives that pointed and sustained
them in their academics and careers. Several women ascribed their perseverance
with mathematics from verbal encouragement from fathers, mothers, grandparents,
or family members at various points in their lives. Participants also recounted both
male and female teachers who were verbally encouraging and persuasive in middle
school, high school, and college. Zeldin and Pajares (2000) asserted that the
professed importance of these sources of self-efficacy beliefs could be stronger for
women in male-dominated fields than for individuals in traditional settings due to
academic and social obstacles that exist for women in these fields.
The second theme that surfaced from the study reinforced Bandura’s (1986)
social cognitive theory and previous research done by Zimmerman and colleagues

37
(1992) that self-efficacy beliefs helped the women in the sample to be resilient to
academic and social obstacles. Women credited their parents both with the
formation of their self-efficacy beliefs and with mental toughness that helped them
establish resiliency to overcome obstacles. According to the women in Zeldin and
Pajares’ (2000) study, mental toughness and resiliency were described as being able
to “turn difficult situations into temporary setbacks rather than insurmountable
hurdles” that would allow the perceived failure to deter them from their academic
and career path (p. 234). Participants in the study expressed how efficacy-building
relationships infused them with a desire to succeed in the majors and careers that are
male-dominated. Every woman spoke of encountering obstacles along their path
experienced through negative sociocultural messages about women in the math and
science fields. Unable to change their social environment, the women each chose to
persist through obstacles based on a belief in their own capabilities that was
grounded in relationships that fostered a positive self-efficacy for them.
Self-efficacy beliefs are an important factor in helping women select and
persist in fields of mathematics and science. The research presented thus far
examines societal variables, attitudes, academic course completion, verbal
encouragement and persuasion as contributors to women’s self-efficacy beliefs.
Attitudes and self-beliefs have been attributed as either obstacles or positive factors
in shaping women’s self-efficacy perceptions and resilience in pursuing male-
dominated fields. Identified by the extant literature, parents and teachers have
contributed, particularly through verbal persuasion and vicarious experience, to

38
creating women’s self-efficacy perceptions in the math and science fields. The
following section will further examine how parents and teachers shape women’s self-
efficacy beliefs.
Contributors Impacting Self-Efficacy
Research shows that families and teachers are influential to students’ self-
efficacy beliefs. Zeldin and Pajares (2000) found that verbal persuasion of these
constituents were instrumental in fostering persistence and resiliency of women in
traditionally male-dominated fields. The women who attested to vicarious
experiences and verbal encouragement from families and teachers reflected on how it
sustained them through school and now their careers.
Family
“Parents often underestimate their daughters’ academic competence and hold
lower expectations for them” (Pajares, 2002, p. 119). According to Zeldin and
Pajares’ (2000) findings, women recounted critical moments when interactions they
had with a parent or family member that propelled their self-efficacy perceptions. In
addition, early exposure to mathematics-related content areas by members of the
women’s families made these areas accessible to them. In some instances, parents
often portray mathematics and science as a male domain (Meece & Courtney, 1992).
For these women who persisted in the math and science fields, the experience with
family members in mathematics-related areas, scientific skills or technology
encouraged them to view these fields as normal and common for women. As female
students enter middle and high school, the perception of mathematics and science as

39
a masculine domain may further weaken their interest in it and possibly affecting
their self-efficacy perceptions in these domains.
Armstrong and Price (1982) sought to find correlates and predictors of
women’s mathematics participation in their national survey of high school seniors.
In their study to understand what affects women’s choice not to pursue mathematics,
they found the best predictor of participation were father’s educational expectations,
teacher encouragement, and (lack of) negative stereotyping. Their predictive model
did not empirically distinguish the cause and effect of women’s participation in
mathematics. However, their study suggested that parents take the position of
“active encouragers” for their daughters to take more mathematics in school and
discuss future career options associated with the field.
Eccles and Jacobs (1986) further elaborated on how parents act as a social
force that shapes women’s self-efficacy beliefs in math. According to their two-year
longitudinal study of 250 average and above-average students in the seventh through
ninth grades, parents are importance “critical socializers” of sex differences in
mathematical achievement and attitudes. The data emerged from their study
suggested that parents’ stereotyped beliefs were a key cause of sex differences in
students’ attitudes toward math. Boys had higher expectations for math performance
than girls, which the researchers asserted stemmed from different expectations
parents held for their sons and for their daughters.
Both studies concluded that parents impact their child’s mathematical
pursuits through verbal persuasion and communicated expectations. Researchers

40
viewed parents as integral in dispelling stereotypes associated with mathematics.
Studies have also cited teachers as playing an important role in impacting self-
efficacy perceptions of mathematics in female students.
Teachers
The women in Zeldin and Pajares’ (2000) study spoke of teachers whom they
believed were “highly influential in the development of their competence and
confidence” (p. 230). They were particularly responsive to the vicarious experiences
and verbal persuasions from their teachers, both male and female. Previous studies
examined the role of teachers as central to students’ attitudes and performance.
In a study conducted by Eccles Parsons, Kaczala, and Meece (1982), 275
children in grades 5, 6, 7, and 9 were asked about their expectancies in future math
courses and in a math-related career. Concurrently, teachers were asked to fill out a
questionnaire for each student participant regarding their expectancies in advanced
math courses and math ability. The researchers sought to examine how teacher
expectancies in the classroom differ according to the gender of the students. Eccles
et al. (1982) found that teachers’ behavior influenced children’s attitude toward
mathematics. In addition, the data suggested that boys and girls have equal
expectations when praise and criticism is equal between both sexes. The study
confirmed classroom teachers shaping future pursuits in mathematics in female
students. Eccles and Jacobs (1986) continued to support this assertion in a following
study.

41
Eccles and Jacobs (1986) supported the belief that teachers are predictors of
students’ beliefs in their mathematical ability. The longitudinal study using path
analysis involved junior and senior high students, their parents, and their
mathematics teacher. It examined social and attitudinal factors that influence
enrollment in mathematics courses. The result of their study pointed to teachers’
beliefs as predictive of students’ beliefs in mathematical achievement and attitudes.
Though the impact of teachers’ beliefs is not as large as that of parents’ beliefs,
Eccles and Jacobs (1986) asserted that teachers play a role encouraging girls to
develop interests in math and science. Armstrong and Price (1982) also stressed the
importance of teachers encouraging women’s participation in mathematics through
taking more mathematics courses and seeking out careers in mathematics.
Summary
The extant literature cited the importance of self-efficacy beliefs in academic
attainment, goal setting, career pursuit, and resiliency. Researchers used prior
achievement to measure general self-efficacy beliefs and predict academic course
pursuits. Women’s negative self-belief in being successful in STEM fields has
contributed to their underrepresentation in the field when academic achievement was
controlled. The research also pointed to success in math and science courses
contributing to positive self-efficacy perceptions. The impact of academic
achievement on self-efficacy beliefs is significant in the studies represented.
However, it has failed to completely explain the impact of sociocultural and external
factors. Researchers (Armstrong & Price, 1982; Zeldin and Pajares, 2001; Pajares,

42
2002) have alluded to parents and teachers as contributors to women’s self-efficacy
beliefs.
Eccles (1986) hypothesized that the vocational choices women made to enter
female-stereotyped occupations rather than male-dominated occupations rests in the
desire to find jobs that were not threatening to becoming a successful mother. Other
researchers did not make mention of the mother-role as important nor alluded to
careers in math and science as a threatening occupation against motherhood. The
differing theories in the literature have pointed to a lack of research conducted in
how gender-role socialization has influenced women’s consideration of various
academic and career opportunities. In addition, studies have not examined childhood
socialization experiences that impact one’s perspective on academic and career
options. Finally, the theories presented have struggled with determining the impact
of internal versus external factors that contribute to women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in the mathematics and science domains.
The purpose of this chapter was to first provide an overview of literature that
examines social cognitive theory, particularly self-efficacy, to explain academic
achievement and motivation. Secondly, the purpose was to examine self-efficacy
beliefs as it relates to college major choice and career trajectory. Lastly, the impact
of external influences on women’s self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics and science
was investigated.
As indicated in the literature review, despite girls performing on par with
boys in mathematics courses in high school, females continue to be underrepresented

43
in college mathematics and science majors compare to their male peers. The research
presented points to women’s self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics and science as
influential in their academic and career pursuits. The literature also indicated
women’s self-efficacy beliefs shaped by their parents and teachers’ perception of
women in male-dominated fields. These findings explained the underrepresentation
of women in the mathematics and science fields through these reasons: 1) lack of
academic preparation, 2) lack of self-efficacy, and 3) cultural stereotypes. Yet, a gap
in the literature exists that leaves theorists, researchers, educators without a complete
picture that explains why a lack of women in the STEM fields still remain.
This chapter has provided an impetus for further research to be conducted to
explain this phenomenon. Previous research has sought to explain this phenomenon
through quantitative methodology using multiple regression, correlation coefficients,
prediction models, and path analysis. Though the research findings on math self-
efficacy may be generalizable to a large population, it leaves a gap in understanding
the process of how female students examine their self-efficacy beliefs in
mathematics and science majors in light of choosing a college major.
Mathematics self-efficacy is a construct that has been widely researched
during the past decade, but this research has not been representative of a diverse
society nor has it been told in a narrative fashion. Therefore, in order to explore this
problem I will use qualitative, case study methodology approach to study female
high school seniors who have been involved in a pre-college program focused on
preparing them for success in school and college particularly in the math and science

44
fields. The female students in this program are prepared to pursue a STEM major in
college through academic components which include motivational, academic, and
competitive activities.
In the next chapter, I will explain why I chose a qualitative approach rather
than a quantitative approach traditionally used to study self-efficacy in research. I
will also provide information about the sites chosen and the participants involved.
Lastly, I will discuss the methodology and procedures used in this study to gather
and analyze data in order to address the research questions.
Literature is replete with research on the topic of self-efficacy however,
nearly all the studies are quantitative in methodology and do not present detailed
accounts to show how female students’ self-efficacy perceptions in math and science
directly correlate to their college major choice. In addition, researchers have failed to
examine childhood socialization experiences and their impact on one’s perspective
on academic and career options. The theories in literature are inconclusive in
determining how internal versus external factors contribute to women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in the math and science domains. The gaps in the extant literature reveal
a need to examine the process women undertake in determining whether to pursue a
STEM major through a qualitative approach. Employing a qualitative approach to
understanding women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math and science creates room
for understanding how internal and external factors shape women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in math and science and influence their college major choice.

45
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
As demonstrated in the previous chapter, research has shown that female
students’ participation in high school math and science courses and enrollment into
higher education institutions is equivalent to their male peers. Yet, the STEM
(science, technology, engineering, mathematics) majors continue to be
predominantly comprised of male students. The increase in women attending
college over the last two decades, the percentage of females majoring in the math,
science, and engineering fields continue to be disproportionate to their male
counterparts (Zeldin & Pajares, 2000).
The primary purpose of the study was to discover and identify how the role
of self-efficacy in mathematics and science influence MESA female high school
seniors and their choice of a college major. Secondly, the study sought to identify
what components of the MESA program encourage female seniors to see the
mathematics and science fields as a possible career option. Utilizing the theory of
self-efficacy, specifically in the domains of mathematics and science, I studied
female high school seniors’ involvement in the University of Southern California
(USC) MESA program and their self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and
science. In addition, I sought to discern how existing components within the MESA
program encourages female seniors to see the STEM fields as a career option for
them.

46
Research Design
Through an in-depth examination of MESA female high school seniors, the
study focused on their self-efficacy perceptions in the mathematics and science and
investigates their perception as it relates to their college major choice. The rationale
behind conducting this ethnographic study was based on finding themes from
students’ stories that help explain how female seniors go about choosing for or
against a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major. Since
the MESA program works to reduce the underrepresentation of female students in
the STEM field through inciting interest in the math and science fields in schools, the
study examined what components are influential to female seniors when selecting a
STEM major.
The questions investigated in this study were:
1.) What is the role of MESA female high school seniors’ self-efficacy
perceptions in math and science when selecting a college major?
2.) How do the existing components of the MESA program encourage
female students to see STEM majors as a possible academic and career
option for them?
An Introduction To MESA
The site chosen to conduct this study is one of the core members of the
University of Southern California’s (USC) Community Education Academy (CEA).
The Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program was founded
in 1970 with the mission to enable educationally disadvantaged students through

47
their academic program to prepare for and graduate from a four-year college or
university with a math-based degree in areas such as engineering, the sciences,
computer science, and mathematics. The programs are based on a common co-
curricular academic enrichment model that includes academic planning and
enrichment, community service, family involvement, hands-on engineering
activities, career advising, field trips, competitions and workshops. In 2001, MESA
was been named one of the top five most innovative public programs in the nation by
Innovations in American Government, a project launched by the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University and the Ford Foundation. The program has also
been the winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics
and Engineering Mentoring. In order to understand the selection of this site, an
understanding of historical factors is essential.
History
California MESA is a founding member of MESA USA, a partnership of
MESA programs from eight states that have joined together under the same mission.
Other states include Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and
Washington. California MESA serves students through pre-college, community
college, and university students. The program is based on strong partnerships forged
among federal and state governments, private industry, higher education, schools,
teachers, parents and communities. These partners work collaboratively to support
MESA students in their academic success in math and science.

48
MESA students develop academic and leadership skills in order to be
competitive in their field. The pre-college program targets a student population
determined by examining groups who have had the lowest levels of four-year and
graduate level program completion in past college history. It is posited that through
fostering confidence and academic achievement, MESA closes the achievement gap.
This has been illustrated through their student outcomes.
In 2005-2006 MESA served 20,050 students in their three programs. Their
largest program, pre-college K-12, served 14,000 students. Eighty-eight school
districts and 307 schools have MESA programs on site. Among these schools, the
program is implemented at 126 senior high schools, 121 middle and junior high
schools, and 60 elementary schools. The percentages of under-served student groups
participating in the MESA pre-college program are made up of Latino Americans
(57%), African Americans (11%), Asian Americans (18%), White (6%), and
American Indian (1%).
The MESA student outcomes indicate that 77 percent of MESA students
successfully completed Algebra 1 before the 10
th
grade and among the high school
graduates who were African American, Latino American and American Indian, 29
percent were eligible for admission to a UC campus. This eligibility rate was much
higher than the statewide rate of 6.2 percent for African Americans and 6.5 percent
for Latino Americans. Of the MESA high school graduates, 54 percent went on to
postsecondary education as math, science, or engineering majors. Sixty-seven
percent of California MESA graduates went to college immediately after graduation

49
compared to the state average of 44 percent. The University of Southern California
(USC) MESA program, located in Los Angeles, contributes to the percentage of high
school graduates and preparation of students to pursue math-based college education
and careers.
Los Angeles
Historical, economic, and urban trends have combined to situate USC within
two of the most economically challenged urban areas of Los Angeles. The
University Park Campus is located two miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles
and its accompanying campus Health Sciences is located three miles from downtown
Los Angeles. Aware of the urban dynamics surrounding the campus, USC
developed the Community Education Academy (CEA) whose chief objective is to
prepare low-income and traditionally underserved youth for success in school and
college.
Community Education Academy
CEA was established in 2002 and provides an overarching structure to unite
the five USC education outreach programs. The mission of CEA is to unite these
distinct programs to serve pre-school, elementary, middle and high schools and strive
to effectively prepare low-income students for success in school and college. The
five programs carrying out CEA’s mission are: TRIO Programs (TRIO), School of
Early Childhood Education (SECE), Medical Counseling, Organization and
Recruitment Program (Med-COR), Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement
(MESA), and Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI). Each of the members noted

50
above, share the common goal of working with lower-income, working-class
minority youth and their parents in their schools and community to assist them in
reaching their academic and career goals. The difference between the five programs
resides in the ages of the students they serve. Among the five core members, MESA
exclusively services students at their own school site.
USC-MESA Program Description
USC-MESA represents the middle and high school arm of CEA’s mission to
prepare disadvantaged students for success in school and college particularly in the
mathematics and science fields but is legally and fiscally housed in the Viterbi
School of Engineering. Founded in 1977 and funded via a subcontract with the
University of California, USC-MESA started with three schools and has
geographically expanded to serve 23 middle and high schools in the greater Los
Angeles region. API scores for south-central Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD) schools are the in the lowest quintile (20%) indicating a need for
additional educational programs. USC-MESA’s academic enrichment components
in the math and sciences serve to improve achievement of the students that reside in
and around the LAUSD area.
USC-MESA has grown from 300 to 1,100 students in the past 31 years with
the work of dedicated staff and advisors at each school. USC-MESA advisors co-
facilitate Academic Excellence Workshops and teach MESA Periods during the
school day. The students identified for this program stem from their interest and
potential for math and science and are prepared to pursue math-based college

51
education and careers. The students meet on a weekly basis and participate in an
integration of motivational, academic, and competitive activities. USC-MESA
strongly believes that academic competitions are a truly efficacious way to prepare
students for college and a career in the math and science fields.
Student Demographics
The total student population represented within the USC-MESA’s service
area to LAUSD is approximately 704,417. Twelve of the 15 high schools in USC-
MESA reflect a student population of Hispanics (73.3%), Whites (8.9%), African-
Americans (11.2%), and Asians (3.8%). USC-MESA also services three more high
schools in their own districts within the greater Los Angeles region with student
demographics similar and reflective of general LAUSD service area.
In the 2006-2007 school year, all 175 seniors from the 15 USC-MESA high
schools graduated and approximately 125 students attended four-year college or
university that fall. This reflects a 71 percent college-going rate compared to the
California MESA’s 67 percent and the state’s 44 percent. This study will be
focusing on high school seniors and their college major choice. Thus, USC-MESA
high schools will be the focus from this point forth.
Site Description
As stated previously, USC-MESA provides academic enrichment to prepare
historically under-represented students for the fields of math and science. These
academic components include motivational, academic, and competitive activities
regularly on their school campus and a few times on the USC campus during the

52
school year. Fifteen separate high schools compose the network of USC-MESA
service locations. The 15 sites are displayed in Table 1, and succinct descriptions of
the schools follow.

Table 1
USC-MESA High School Matrix
Sites District Enrollment
Site A Alhambra Unified 3,310
Site B LAUSD 4,359
Site C Culver City Unified 2,195
Site D LAUSD 3,457
Site E LAUSD 4,638
Site F Hawthorne 489
Site G LAUSD 2,771
Site H LAUSD 3,953
Site I LAUSD 2,707
Site J LAUSD 3,352
Site K LAUSD 2,811
Site L LAUSD 3,213
Site M LAUSD 708
Site N LAUSD 3,017
Site O LAUSD 2,896

Site A: This site is located just east of Los Angeles and is less than 13 miles
from the USC University Park campus. Though bordering on the LAUSD district
lines, this school resides in their own district. It is one of the oldest high schools in
California but one of the newest schools in the USC-MESA program joining in 2000.

53
The student population at this site is made up of predominantly Asian (47%) and
Hispanic (44%) students.
Site B: This site is in LAUSD and has the second highest number of students
enrolled among the fifteen USC-MESA high schools. The Hispanic population
(90%) at this school exceeds that of the district by nearly 17 percent.
Site C: This site is at the urban fringe of the downtown Los Angeles area. It
is located 10.5 miles from the USC campus. It is not a LAUSD high school though
Hispanic students are also the majority of the school population.
Site D: The USC-MESA program started at this site in 1984 and currently
attracts a large student population. This center educates K-12 students with a student
population of 3,457. Among these students, high school seniors comprise 150 of the
total population. In addition, Hispanic students are 78 percent of the total student
population.
Site E: This site is one of the initial USC-MESA program locations in 1977.
This high school has the largest enrollment among all USC-MESA high schools. It
is located less than five miles from the USC University Park campus. The majority
of the student population classify themselves as Hispanic (89%).
Site F: This site is located approximately 11 miles from downtown Los
Angeles and has a growing Hispanic student population. Hispanic students currently
comprise 65% of the student population and are presumed to be the majority by
2009. The percentage of African-American and white students have steadily
declined.

54
Site G: This site is seven miles from the USC University Park campus and
with the majority of the student population from Hispanic (66%) and African-
American (33%) ethnicities.
Site H: The USC-MESA program began on this campus in 1977 when the
program was founded. This site neighborhoods the USC University Park campus
being two miles away. It is the third largest school among the 15 USC-MESA high
schools. The Hispanic population serves as the majority at this school and exceeds
any of the other ethnicities.
Site I: This site is located north of Santa Monica and 18 miles northwest of
the USC University Park campus. Half of their student population is White compare
to the approximately eight percent in LAUSD.
Site J: This site borders the USC University Park campus being two miles
away. The student population here is reflective of the neighborhood with nearly 92
percent Hispanics. Nearly half of the student population is classified as Learners of
the English Language.
Site K: This school is located eight miles southeast of the USC University
Park Campus. The student population is over 98 percent Hispanic with one-third
classified as Learners of the English Language.
Site L: This site resides near close to the previously mentioned site, South
East High School. The Hispanic student population mirrors that of South East High
School though the student enrollment exceeds South East High School by
approximately 400 students.

55
Site M: This site serves elementary, middle and high school students. The
high school is a magnet school and is part of a family of five schools bounded
together. There are approximately 708 students in the K-12 grades with over 51%
Hispanic students.
Site N: The USC-MESA program here is known to be one of the stronger
programs in comparison to some of the other fifteen high schools. It initially began
with Cal State Northridge in 1977 but joined USC-MESA in 1985. The average
socioeconomic status (SES) of families that attend this school is higher than many of
the other high schools in the program. The diversity in enrollment at this site is seen
on campus by the following groups: Hispanics (66%), Whites (14%), African-
Americans (10%), and Asians (7%).
Site O: Located on the fringe of the urban Los Angeles area, this site is
situated seven miles southwest of the USC University Park campus. The student
population is closely divided between Hispanic and African-American students.
Amongst the 15 USC-MESA high schools, Site A and Site H were the two
sites selected for this study. There were three criteria utilized as a basis for this
decision. The primary criteria for the section of these two schools was based on their
active participation in the USC-MESA program over the past school year. Active
participation was defined as holding regular meetings on their school sites and
participation in academic competitions. Secondly, the sites could not be magnet or
preparatory schools since the study sought to investigate the math and science
program components as enriching to the standard high school curriculum. Finally,

56
the site needed to be categorized as having a relatively large USC-MESA program
on their site. A large program was determined by having at least 15 to 20 students in
each high school grade level.
The first site selected for the study was Site A located east of Los Angeles.
The USC-MESA program started at Site A in 2000. This site was selected because it
currently stands as the largest MESA program despite being one of the more recent
schools involved with USC-MESA. It currently has 25 graduating high school
seniors involved and another 20 juniors continuing in the program this fall. The high
number of Asian student participation made this site distinct among the other schools
in the program. The rationale for selecting Site A was due to the different ethnic
background from those represented at the other site. The students represented at this
site have also been determined by their teachers as disadvantaged based on their
family’s socioeconomic status (SES) or upon their family’s educational attainment
history. Like other students in the USC-MESA program, many of these students will
be the first in their family to attend a four-year college or university.
The other site selected was Site H in Los Angeles. Site H was selected for
the study because it was one of the two original schools that started with USC-
MESA in 1977. Site H has been involved with USC-MESA for over 20 years and
has one of the largest number of MESA participants. On average, there are 15 high
school students in each class level every year. Reflective of the 82 percent Hispanic
student population, the MESA program on this campus is represented by
predominately Hispanic students. Their program takes pride in holding a strong

57
record in the Robotics competition for the past four years and eventually winning
first place in the 2008 Robotics competition among the LAUSD schools. Similar to
the students involved in the MESA program at Site A, these students have been
identified as disadvantaged due to their family’s SES, and educational history, in
addition to their potential to be successful in the math-based college majors and
careers with the help of USC-MESA’s academic enrichment components.
Participant Selection
Participant Description
The unit of analysis within this study was current female high school seniors
who have been involved in the USC-MESA program since their freshman year and
are planning to enroll in a four-year university the fall after graduation. Two female
seniors participated from Site H and 10 female seniors participated from Site A.
These numbers represented the current number of female students involved in USC-
MESA who are presently in their senior year and are planning to enroll in a four-year
college or university the fall after they graduate from their high school. Due to the
discrepancy between the assumed number of participants from Site H and the actual
number of participants, three female juniors were also included in the study. Though
they were not the primary participants involved, they were interviewed in order to
gather more perspective on the program. I will further address the reasoning for the
inclusion of junior participants in the chapter five under limitations. I chose to
utilize purposeful sampling (Patton, 2002) since my goal is not empirical
generalization from a sample to a population. The case for purposefully selecting

58
these 12 participants rested in the information-rich cases their years of experience
and involvement with the USC-MESA program are more likely to generate. I also
chose these 12 participants because their experiences were more likely to yield
insight and an in-depth understanding about the program and components that have
shaped their college and career aspirations throughout high school rather than
empirical generalizations.
Secondly, I chose MESA advisors at the school sites to serve as secondary
sources of study. There are two advisors at Site A who worked with the students
starting their freshman year and have continued to advise them as seniors this year. I
also chose to include the one advisor at Site H who oversees the MESA program.
The role of advisors requires them to co-facilitate the weekly workshops and
facilitate MESA meetings at their campus. In addition, they assist the students in
preparing for college applications. Since the MESA advisors have regular
interaction with the students and are heavily involved in the program, I chose to
investigate their perspective of the MESA program at their respective site and their
experience with the USC-MESA program. Finally, the USC-MESA director and two
staff members were selected to be tertiary sources in order to gather additional
information. The data collected from the administrator and staff members are to
assist in providing an institutional perspective of the program. Table 2 is provided to
concisely display the narrative data.

59
Table 2
Participant Matrix
Study Participants Number
High School Female Seniors
Site A 10
Site H 2
High School Female Juniors
Site H 3
MESA Advisors
Site A 2
Site H 1
USC-MESA Program Staff
Director 1
Staff 2
Total 21

Participants excluded from the study were male students because the study
focuses on women’s self-efficacy in math and science. Non-senior female students
in the MESA program at both sites are also excluded as participants central to the
study, though three female juniors were included to gather more information about
the program. The rationale for their exclusion as participants central to the study is
primarily for two reasons: 1.) They are not graduating and applying for college
where they would need to indicate a college major and 2.) I am examining what
program components have influenced these students. If they are not seniors, then
their time participation in the program does not lend to a full participation of the
USC-MESA program.

60
In addition, the study is focusing on the self-efficacy of women in
mathematics and science and purposely excluded the role of ethnicity and socio-
economic status. The intention of examining the role of gender alone as it relates to
self-efficacy was the central rationale behind the decision to exclude investigating
ethnicity and socio-economic status in this study.
Research Strategies
The experience of being involved in the USC-MESA program throughout
high school is best understood from the point of view of the person who has been
involved in the program. In order to best capture the experiences of these high
school female seniors it was necessary to use the words and languages of these
individuals. Thus, for this study I chose to utilize a qualitative case study design as
the method to explore how high school female seniors involved with and
participating in the USC-MESA program decide upon their college major choice to
prepare them for their career. A qualitative line of inquiry instead of a quantitative
research design was selected for this study for a variety of reasons. First and
foremost, the qualitative method provides the researcher with an ability to develop
breath and depth about the individuals and be highly involved in the actual
experiences of the study participants. Additionally, a qualitative design allows the
research to be emergent rather than tightly prefigured (Creswell, 2003) in the
exploration and collection of data. Finally, as a researcher, the qualitative case study
allows for the opportunity to capture direct quotations and explore personal

61
perceptions, and individual experiences of the subjects’ involvement in great depth
with care and attention given to detail, context, and nuance (Patton, 2002).
Contrary to the predetermined boundaries set in experimental research, the
data collected allows for rich and thick description about the students, advisors, staff,
situations, and phenomena to emerge. By using qualitative methodologies to guide
my research, the focus centers on looking at people and events from a holistic
perspective rather than only at bits and pieces (Wolcott, 1975). In addition, this
approach carves out a degree of personal involvement far beyond other research
approaches that require building rapport and credibility with the individuals
participating in the study (Creswell, 2003). The following section will address 1)
sampling procedures for data collection, 2) data collection methods, and 3) data
analysis.
Sampling Procedures
According to Patton (2002) the logic and power behind purposeful sampling
is based on selecting information-rich cases for study in depth. My aim for this
study was not empirical generalization from a sample to a population thus permitting
me to strategically and purposefully select cases that renders insight into the
phenomenon under study. Within purposeful sampling a variety of strategies exist
which lends to gathering information-rich cases. I chose to utilize homogeneous
sampling as a way to acquire my sample.
Homogeneous sampling allows for choosing a small sample for the purpose
of describing a particular subgroup in depth (Patton, 2003). For this study, I used in-

62
depth information about female high school seniors who have been involved in the
MESA program at their site for the past four years. This sampling procedure
allowed me to gather together subjects that fit the criteria to study as a particular
subgroup. Utilizing this strategy lends itself to bring together people of similar
backgrounds and experiences to participate in group interviews and focus groups.
However, in order to validate the uniqueness of each subject’s experience, multiple
data collection methods were employed.
Data Collection Procedures
Prior to conducting any data collection in August, I submitted and met the
requirements for the USC – University Park Internal Review Board (UPIRB) in July
to conduct research. Since the majority of my data collection would occur at two
high school sites in two different districts, I was also required to meet the Internal
Review Board (IRB) requirements of Site A’s district as well as Site H’s district.
Once district IRB was granted, I sought the permission of the principal on each site
to conduct research at their high school. Their approvals to conduct research at their
high schools were received by early August. Both parent consent forms and youth
consent forms to participate in research were formatted according to the UPIRB
standards and distributed to each participant during my initial meeting with them.
Once their parent consent and youth consent forms were signed and returned, I
started collecting data.

63
In-depth interviews
In order to determine female MESA students’ self-efficacy perceptions in
math and science and the impact of USC-MESA program components, I collected a
total of 17 in-depth interviews for this study from female MESA seniors, MESA
advisors, and USC-MESA program staff. Initially, I had anticipated an additional six
female seniors to interview at Site H from their participation roster. Upon arrival at
the school site, there were two female seniors. Therefore, I decided to also interview
three female juniors who have been in the program since their freshman year.
Including the female junior participants, a total of 23 in-depth interviews were
conducted for this study. Each interview lasted approximately 30-45 minutes and
were conducted face-to-face with each participant, audio-taped, and transcribed to
ensure accuracy. Interview with students were conducted on their school campus
while interviews with advisors and MESA staff members were conducted in their
offices. The open-ended, semi-structured interview approach was utilized to conduct
these interviews. I developed a standardized protocol (Appendix A) consisting of
open-ended questions for use with the female senior participants another one for the
USC-MESA staff and advisors (Appendix B). The standardized, open-ended
interview protocol assisted in guiding my interaction and discussions during the
interview. The interview protocol also ensured consistency across interviews and
assured a reduction in the amount of variation between interviews. Employing a
standardized, open-ended protocol also keep me focused, utilizing and honoring the

64
interviewees’ time, and facilitated later analysis of the data by making responses
easy to find and compare. Follow-up interviews were conducted if necessary.
These interviews sought to gather data from female high school students on
their self-efficacy perceptions in math and science. Embodied in the theory of self-
efficacy is one’s perception of their present ability, possible capabilities, and their
feelings about a particular domain. The interviews focused on how female students
form their perceptions of themselves in the math and science domain and what
MESA program components influence these perceptions. In addition, the interviews
sought to find how these students come to form their college major choice.
Focus groups
In order to cross-validate or discover additional themes, I conducted two
focus group interviews. The focus group environment provided participants with the
opportunity to hear one another’s responses and lead to a sharing of ideas that may
not have been accessible in the individual interviews. A semi-structured, open-ended
interview protocol (Appendix C) consisting of five questions was used. Each focus
group interview lasted approximately 30-45 minutes and was conducted before
school on their high school campus or during one of their weekly meetings. During
the focus group, I sought to look for similar aspects and themes of self-efficacy
perceptions as was utilized within the in-depth individual interviews.
At the beginning of each focus group, I provided a general explanation of the
study to the subjects. However, most of the students participating in the focus group
had already been individually interviewed and were familiar with the study I was

65
conducting. I also reminded them of my intention to keep all information
confidential for ethical purposes.
Observations
Direct observations within the study settings is optimal for the researcher
because it allows for a better understanding of the context in which the study
participants exist but also provides the researcher with a first-hand experience in
seeing things that may go unnoticed of persons in the setting (Patton, 2003). Wolcott
(1975) calls this ethnographic approach a way for researchers to record and report
not only interactions observed, but also discover the meaning participants in the
setting assign to events in which they engage.
I chose to conduct 12 observations of weekly MESA meetings on each site
totaling 24 formal meeting observations or 18 hours. The observations occurred at
the weekly meetings held on each site. The Site A MESA seniors met every
Tuesday morning in the Industrial Technology building during zero period from
6:45am-7:45am. At the Site H site, the MESA meeting was held every Wednesday
during the students’ lunch period from 12:59pm-1:29pm in the advisor’s classroom.
From mid-August to the end of October, many of the MESA seniors at Site H were
off-track. They continued to meet and after the lunch period to conduct research for
upcoming competitions. I assumed my role as a participant observer during those
weeks to better understand and capture the context within which the students interact
in order to gather a holistic perspective (Patton, 2002). During these weeks, I spent
time observing and interacting with the students until around 2:30pm when they

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were ready to head home or to the local museum. The additional nine hours spent
informally observing the students created a sense of trust between the students and I
and allowed me to build rapport with them. A total of 28 hours of formal and
informal observations of weekly MESA meetings occurred on the two campuses.
I initially assumed the role of a non-participant observer at both sites with the
intent of moving into a participant observer role. During my non-participant and
participant observation phases in the study, I observed student to advisor, advisor to
student, and student-to-student interactions. In order to examine female students’
self-efficacy perceptions in math and science, I looked for components of the MESA
program that foster interest and motivation among high school females toward
STEM majors.
In addition to the weekly MESA meetings, I was a participant observer at all
three USC-MESA events held between August and November: USC-MESA
Advisors Retreat, USC-MESA Student Leadership Retreat, and the USC College
Day. In addition, I also chose to observe the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Regional Invention Challenge held at Site H where USC-MESA students took part. I
used these opportunities to observe and gather students’ perceptions about going to
college and choosing a major. With continued and prolonged engagement with the
students and advisors outside of their weekly meetings, I developed patterns and
relationships of meaning throughout the research process (Creswell, 2003).
At the USC-MESA Advisors Retreat, all three USC-MESA staff members
were present along with approximately 30-35 middle school and high school

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advisors. The Saturday retreat was held from 10:00am – 3:00pm and was led by the
assistant director of the USC-MESA program. Advisors spent the day discussing
three central issues they face in leading the MESA program at their schools:
retention, recruitment, and administrative support. The assistant director also led the
group in new MESA activities that have been included in the curriculum for the
2008-2009 school year. I initially remained as unobtrusive as possible during the
discussion on challenges advisors face but was encouraged to participate in the
curriculum activities such as creating a wind-powered car, building a trebuchet, and
building a tower made of plastic drinking straws strong enough to hold a high school
Algebra textbook. While being immersed in this culture, I maintained objectivity.
In September, I chose to observe the USC-MESA Leadership Retreat held on
the USC campus. A group of 35-40 students represented their high schools and
came together on a Saturday morning from 8:00am - 4:30pm to learn about their
leadership style and how to effectively lead the MESA program on their campuses.
My initial plan was to be a participant observer at this event. However, the assistant
director needed facilitators for the students groups and asked if I would serve as one.
As a small group facilitator, it allowed me to closely gather information about the
culture of the program and students’ behavioral patterns throughout the day. While
being immersed in the retreat throughout the day, I also made cognizant efforts to
take a step back and observe with objectivity.
On Saturday, October 25
th
, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering held
College Day from 10:00am to 3:00pm as a chance for hundreds of MESA students

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and their parents from the community to come onto campus, hear various engineers
talk about their jobs, engineering students share about the realities of being an
engineering student in college, engineering professors discuss their areas of
researchers, college administrators impart insights on how to be successful in
college, and speak with college representatives and recruiters. Designated
workshops were also offered for parents to assist them in understanding the financial
aid application and creating a safe forum for them to ask questions about the college-
going process.
As a participant observer throughout the day, I joined several Site H students
in attending two of the seminars offered and had the opportunity to also interact with
their parents. In this informal setting, I was able to observe the interaction between
parents and their children by being with them throughout the day. It also created an
opportunity for me to listen to the concerns as well as the nervous excitement these
parents had about their children going to college.
Site H hosted the 2008 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Regional Invention
Challenge on Saturday, November 22
nd
. Over twenty teams from various high
schools throughout Southern California entered this competition. As an observer at
this event, I looked to see how the USC-MESA students from both Site H and Site A
prepared themselves for competition and how they responded to their peers in
competition. I recognized behaviors and verbal responses of the female students that
pointed to their sense of self-efficacy.

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In addition to the 28 hours of formal and informal observation from weekly
MESA meetings, another 21.5 hours of observation were conducted from the four
aforementioned events. Forty-nine and a half total hours of observations were
conducted for this study.
Document analysis
Document analysis was used as a means of gathering data for this study. I
collected and reviewed literature pertaining to MESA USC, California MESA, and
USC-MESA. Examples of sources of information are: annual reports, program
curriculum, program records, brochures, and newsletters. Additionally, I reviewed
information specific to the USC-MESA program at the two sites of study such as:
weekly curriculum, math and science activities, pre-college information, and
information regarding science, math, and engineering competitions. These
documents can “prove valuable not only because of what can be learned directly
from them but also as a stimulus for paths of inquiry that can be pursued only
through direction observation and interviewing” (Patton, 2003, p.294).
Research time frame
The USC-MESA program runs concurrently with the traditional school year
calendar from September to June. However, I started to attend the weekly MESA
meetings starting from April through June when the participants were juniors in
order to introduce myself to the students and advisors. No formal data collection
occurred at this time. Formal data collection for this study occurred between the
months of August 2008 and lasted through December 2008 once I received approval

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from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and formal approval from each school
district and high school principal. Prior to when the school year began at these two
sites, I started conducting document analysis by collecting materials about MESA
and its program activities from the director, staff members, and advisors. Once the
school year began, I started to conduct formal interviews and observations at the two
sites during their weekly meetings in the months of September through December.
Data Analysis
To conduct the analysis of data, I used Creswell’s (2003) Six-Step Plan as
follows: 1) organize and prepare data, 2) read data, 3) code and chunk data, 4)
generate descriptions, categories, or themes, 5) identify representation, 6) make
interpretation. Creswell (2003) recommends the use of triangulation of data sources
to allow the researcher to assess the accuracy of the findings. The data from
interviews were triangulated to examine the experiences and opinions of the subjects
and their self-efficacy as it relates to the program. Data from observations were also
examined for consistency with what the MESA program posits as their curriculum
and elements of their program goals to achieve. I also examined whether students
were aware of the MESA program’s goal, which is to encourage and academically
prepare them to pursue STEM majors and fields.
Access to Site
Prior to this study, I met with the USC-MESA director to build rapport and
gain his confidence with regards to my studying the program. In my initial face-to-
face meeting with the director, I introduced myself and shared with him about my

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interest in studying the USC-MESA program. During our initial meeting, we
discussed areas in which he was interested in conducting research. The second face-
to-face meeting with him included my explanation in detail as to the focus of this
study, the role I would assume, and the potential design of the study. Due to his
extensive knowledge and history with the MESA program, he suggested several high
schools I could consider as sites for the study. He continued to be my initial contact
with the advisors of the two high school sites that were chosen.
Validity and Reliability
Although the validation of findings occurs throughout the research process, I
utilized a variety of strategies to check for the accuracy and credibility of the data.
First, confidence and validity in the findings were supported through the use of
multiple data sources including focus groups non-participant and participant
observations, document analysis, and in-depth individual interview providing
personal detailed experiences. Data were crosschecked through the multiple sources
and triangulated to examine for convergence or divergence in the findings. This
strengthened the reliability of the data and supported the researcher in building a
coherent justification for the themes (Creswell, 2003).
Next, member-checking and obtaining feedback on data from interviews
were utilized to ensure validity in the findings. The detailed reports and specific
descriptions and themes were shown to participants after their interviews were
transcribed and interpreted and asked whether they felt the data was accurate. In
addition, reliability of the data was increased through the prolonged engagement and

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persistent observations that begun in April. This strategy allowed me to develop an
in-depth understanding of the phenomenon and convey detail about the sites and the
participants that lends credibility to the narrative account (Creswell, 2003).
According to McEwan and McEwan (2003) qualitative researchers can be
rendered worthless if the researcher fails to reveal their biases and predispositions in
their study. In order to ensure validity in the study, I allowed myself to be self-
reflexive as a researcher and examine my positionality as it related to the study. I
spent time honestly examining how my personal bias shapes the way I look at the
data. In the following section called “Role of the Researcher”, I discuss how my
personal bias influences the perspective I take in the research.
Role of the Researcher
In qualitative research the role of the researcher as the primary collector of
data means it is important to disclose personal assumptions, commitments or biases
because data is never self-explanatory (Taylor & Bogdan, 1984). Conducting a
study without acknowledging presenting this information to the consumer of the
study affects the trustworthiness of the study itself. Thus, in the following section I
describe my experience and personal views as a researcher.
My perception of women’s self-efficacy in the math and science is shaped by
both my family experiences and my professional employment within the California
public schools. First, I grew up in family that fell in the middle to lower SES bracket
and would qualify today as disadvantaged. From early in my schooling process, I
had steered away from the math and science fields wondering whether an Asian

73
American women, could thrive in a field dominated by men. Though I had done
quite well in those subjects from K-12, my low self-efficacy perceptions in those
domains deterred me from ever pursuing a math-based major in college. In addition,
I taught science in a California public elementary school in 2001 and worked
collaboratively with the math teacher who was also female. We consciously praised
our female students when they excelled in math and science being aware of the
challenges women may face that can deter them from further pursuing these fields.
Due to my personal educational history and professional employment, I bring
a certain bias to this study and empowering women to pursue the math and science
fields is one of them. One form in which self-efficacy is shaped is through verbal
persuasion and encouragement. I built rapport with each participant as a way for the
participants to feel safe to express their own perceptions and their experiences with
the USC-MESA program.
Summary
Qualitative research methods were utilized to help me investigate female high
school seniors and their self-efficacy perceptions in the math and sciences. It also
assisted in obtaining information on which USC-MESA program encourage female
students toward science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) majors.
Research conducted utilizing this method lends itself to discovery in natural settings
where human behavior and events occur and where theory or hypothesis is not a
priori (Creswell, 2003). The focus is on the process that is occurring as well as the
outcome.

74
In order to investigate the study question, I utilized four forms of data
collection methods: 1) individual interviews, 2) observations, 3) focus groups, and
4) document analysis. The sample consisted of female MESA high school seniors at
Site A and Site H, MESA advisors at both sites, and USC-MESA staff. In the next
chapter I will present findings from the study of female MESA seniors’ self-efficacy
perceptions in mathematics and science. Participant responses from both sites will
be presented along with themes about their self-efficacy perceptions that emerged
from the findings. Chapter five will connect findings from data in relation to the
self-efficacy theory. Further, I will discuss promising practices for the MESA
program and research practitioners in fostering positive self-efficacy perceptions in
mathematics and science in women to increase their representation in the STEM
majors and fields. Lastly, areas for future research in self-efficacy perceptions in
mathematics and science will be presented.

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CHAPTER 4
PRESENTATION OF DATA
"Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed.
If I fail, no one will say, 'She doesn't have what it takes.' They will say,
'Women don't have what it takes.'"
-Clare Boothe Luce

Self-efficacy perception has been examined to determine students’ academic
attainment, goal setting, and career pursuits particularly in the relationship between
women and STEM fields. However, the findings have been drawn predominantly
from quantitative approaches in order to explain the story behind women and their
academic and career choices. Less is known about female students at the pivotal
point in their lives where their choice in their academic pursuit will weigh heavily on
their career trajectory. In efforts to understand how self-efficacy perceptions in
mathematics and science play a role in women’s college major choice, this study
took a qualitative approach to uncovering the personal stories of 15 female high
school students, 12 of who are seniors, participating in the USC-MESA program. An
additional six interviews with USC-MESA staff and advisors were conducted to
capture a deeper perspective into the lives of these students and the program. Woven
into these students’ stories are their involvement in the USC-MESA program and
how it has influenced their views of the STEM majors as a possible career option.
As the research progressed, three major categories with relevant
subcategories emerged from the data.
1. Personal Awareness

76
2. Connection to Environment
3. Factors that Help or Hinder
The first category, Personal Awareness, examines the major characteristics of
female students in the USC-MESA program. Students reflected upon past
experiences in the math and sciences as it propelled their continuing interest in the
subjects throughout high school. Through a path analysis approach, students’
experiences contributed to their present participation in the USC-MESA program as
well as their potential academic and career goals. The second theme examines
students’ Connection to Environment that is divided into three subthemes - Home
Community, MESA Community, and the “Real World”. The third and last category,
Factors that Help or Hinder, focuses on students and their relationship with those
around them. The three areas of external influence are divided into Family Support
and Family Pressure, Teachers, and Peers.
The preliminary results are presented within the context of these three
themes. Discussion of these themes will follow with quotes that best represent the
students’ overall positions.
Personal Awareness
Senior year is both an exciting and stressful time when students look to
complete their last year in high school while imagining what life afterwards entails.
In the fall, seniors are faced with taking their SATs and ACTs, filling out college
applications, writing personal statements, deciding upon a college major, meanwhile
completing their A-G requirements and stressing out about their Advanced

77
Placement (AP) courses. The USC-MESA female seniors in this study appeared no
different.
However, these 12 seniors will be first generation college goers determined
to enroll in a four-year university or college the fall after graduation with a desire to
study in a STEM major. They come from families that qualify for free or reduced
lunch and parents who are learning how to navigate the college application and
federal aid process. The parents of these students are neither engineers nor work in a
math-based field. Yet along the way, these students garnered a love for math and
science to motivate them to join MESA in their high schools and consider declaring
a STEM major in college.
When asked to describe how they first became interested in math and science,
participants recounted positive experiences they had as children or memorable events
that occurred in middle school. One student recounted back to her childhood.
“Since I was little, I remember I used to love science. I used to love reading about
the planets, about our solar system, and everything that was going on with our
planet.” She continued, “I think it was probably fifth grade, she [teacher] asked us to
write a paper about what we would like to be when we grow up. I wrote that I would
love to work with NASA.” Another student expressed that she is eager to pursue
mechanical engineering and could trace it back to her childhood. “I’ve always liked
taking stuff apart and putting it back together making it better. I think when I was,
like, ten. I’ve always liked opening the CD players and toys.” She continues to lead
the MESA team at her school in the robotics competition each year. One participant

78
vividly remembers spending time at the Griffith Observatory as the place where her
interest and love for science grew. She expressed with fondness,
When I was younger my dad used to take me to the observatory, at Griffith
Park, so I was interested in astronomy, which is science, and then it just grew
from there. And then my 8th grade science fair project I did this thing where
we record how germs grew, so that was pretty interesting, so that’s why I got
interested in science.

Similar to her peers in the group, one student shared that competitions in junior high
were what fostered her continuing interest in science. She proudly shared, “In 7th
and 8th grade I won science fairs…it really motivated me to like get into science.”
Other participants in the group nodded and remembered winning some type of award
in math and science prior to entering high school.
The participants had little difficulty recalling these types of experiences.
These experiences fueled their continuing interest in the math and science domains
once they entered high school. With the encouragement of teachers and friends, the
participants became aware of the MESA program in their freshman year of high
school.
Present
As current seniors of the MESA program, the participants exemplified similar
characteristics among them that stemmed from being involved for four years. These
students devoted time outside of their regular high school schedules to a pre-college
program designed to foster interest in the STEM fields. In addition to being
interested in engineering, science, or other math-related careers, students in the
MESA program are required to meet the University of California A-G requirements,

79
be enrolled in Algebra by the 9
th
grade and continue into higher-level math classes
each consecutive year, enroll in advanced levels of science such as biology,
chemistry, physics, and complete four years of college preparatory English. One
student shared the trajectory of math and science courses she has taken up until now.
I was in Algebra One my freshman year. Then I took Geometry over the
summer and Algebra Two Honors along with Trigonometry Honors the
following years. Right now I am in Calculus. In science, I took Biology,
Chemistry, and Biology AP. Now I am taking Chemistry AP, and Physics.

This schedule is typical of a MESA student. At first glance they appear as students
who have breezed through these courses as they casually ramble off whom they have
had as teachers in the classes, topics the courses have covered, and what they liked
and disliked about each course. When probed further these students shared the
struggles they have faced in tackling the challenges of each course.
I am not the greatest at math, you know. I may be Asian, and people think,
'Oh, automatically, you are good at math.' But, I am not good at math. I have
to work hard … someone needs to like sit there one-on-one, and help me with
math sometimes.

Struggling through math and science courses was a common sentiment among the
participants. Concurrently, these students also seek out various ways to persist and
stay ahead in their courses.
I have been working my way up since ninth grade to pass all my science
classes and all my math classes. And then, I started going to community
college, taking after school programs – anything that could help me more
with my math, because science I understand completely. I just need more
help with math…and take many math classes as I could so I could get to that
point [college].

80
Determination, confidence, and resilience are evident in the characteristics of
these students. An internal voice exists that pushes them to move past obstacles.
One student tells herself that she “doesn’t want to be like this [struggling in math] for
the rest of my life. I want to get better.” The same student expressed that, “You
learn from the mistakes. You try to learn what you did wrong and then go for it and
try to do it again without implementing those mistakes.” When asked where her
persistence stemmed from, she commented,
I’m just a very determined individual and I like to prove people wrong,
people who look down on you. Just the fact that you can prove them wrong
has always encouraged me to do better. If they say, “Oh, she’s gonna get a
B,” aim for the A. If I say I’m going to do it, I do it. And, like, if I can’t, I
will do whatever it is that I need to do in order to get that accomplished.

When asked about where their optimistic nature and determination stemmed
from, several students shared that learning from previous mistakes has pushed them
to “aim for getting better every time” or looking back and recalling having done
something similar in the past so they will “be able to do it again, use skills that I have
learned and use it again when the chance shows up where I need it”. The
participants were realistic in their views of themselves, acknowledging their
strengths and weaknesses. They drew on their past experiences and lessons that have
taught them about themselves in order to help them determine their next steps toward
college. One of the participants summarized it best.
When I was nominated president for MESA, it was quite a privilege. Not
many people get to that position and that’s when I discovered that I had all
these leadership skills … it just made me change my whole view on myself.
The fact that I can do anything I set myself to … back then I would always be
dubious about it. But now, I see things – I say, “I’m going to do this and I

81
can do it.” So now that changes everything and … if I say I’m going to do
this, I’m going to do it.

The common “I’m going to do it” attitude is pervasive among these female seniors.
Despite being the first in their families to navigate the college application process,
they have set their aspirations high.
Future
Being the trailblazers in their families, these students share a range of
emotions from being excited to nervous when thinking about going to college. Many
shared being “excited to be the first one” out of their brothers and sisters, parents,
and grandparents to go to college. Concurrently, the feelings of excitement also get
interjected with real fears of being the first person to pave the pathway to college.
One participant openly expressed:
I’m kind of nervous and scared because I am the oldest and my family … my
parents never went to college, so I’m the first to go to college. So that scares
me a little bit because I have this thought that no one can help me. But, I
think in the end I’ll probably be okay. I'll follow directions.

Fears of going to college have also stemmed from “going away from home”, “being
scared of not making it among people who have higher SATs and GPAs”, and
“flunking out”. These sentiments were often quickly followed by a sense of
determination. Despite the pressures of being the first to go to college, the
participants shared in a focus group interview that there is an “urge to learn” and thus
a “need to go to college”. This need to make it to a four-year college is distinctive
among their peers. One student commented,

82
There are some people that just talk – but, they do not actually do it [go to
college] and, I do not want them to think that way [about me]...I want to be
the kind of person that will show them, not just be talking.

This determination to go to high school has propelled these students to take
their SATs and ACTs, research colleges and universities that have their potential
major, write their personal statements for college applications, while working
towards maintaining a high GPA and preparing for AP exams. With the end of
November around the corner and the UC application deadline coming up, the
students have made their decisions on which colleges they are applying for and
which major they are declaring on their applications. Among the 12 female seniors,
the schools that came up most frequently were the University of Southern California
(USC), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California San
Diego (UCSD), University of California Merced, and Cal Poly Pomona.
When asked how the participants decided upon their selected schools, the
responses indicated a connection between the school and the major they were hoping
to pursue. One student expressed, “My first choice would be USC and then I was
thinking UC Merced or Cal State L.A. or Cal Poly Pomona. My major would be
mechanical engineering.” Another student determined to become a doctor looked at
schools with pre-med programs. She determined that, “…UCLA, USC, and UC San
Diego… will really help me prepare my career.” One participant knew she wanted
to be a marine biologist since she was a child. Her hopes to become a marine
biologist led her to research the schools in California that would provide the best
preparation for her career.

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I’m going to apply to UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and Cal State
Monterey Bay because those have marine biology programs … I’m really
striving towards those and if I don’t make it into those, I could always go to a
small college and transfer. But I just know that no matter what course I need
to take I’m going to do marine biology, 100% sure.

Come the end of November, the students will have initiated new pathways for
their future. They are hopeful for what the upcoming year will entail as they must
patiently wait for spring before knowing what their future will reveal. In the midst
of school, MESA competitions, and impending senioritis, one student expressed, “I
hope I am still as motivated about learning then (in college) as I am now.” More
importantly, the general consensus has come down to being in the right place next
year. This senior shared, “I will be the first one [to go to college]. I feel pretty
excited. I want to pick the right, not the perfect school, but the right school that I
know I could fit in.” Next fall these 12 participants will be leaving a world that is
familiar to them to independently enter into a world that is foreign so they can
achieve their hopes and aspirations.
Connection to Environment
The communities we exist in create the lens through which we look out and
interpret our environment. Our environment reveals the realities of our own lives
and instills a desire to move away and change this reality or cause us to accept what
is around us and remain complacent. Nonetheless, there is a connection to our
environment that cannot be denied. The environment is the larger world both seen
and unseen, the neighborhood and home community we interact with on a daily
basis, or a smaller community we choose to identify with. The 12 participants in this

84
study live in neighborhoods that have shaped who they are today. However, they
have also found a deeper connection to a small group of people on their high school
campus, the MESA program. Living in their neighborhood and experiencing the
community they have in MESA has shaped their views of what they hope they can
contribute to the “real world” in the future.
This theme is divided into three sections. The first section will examine the
connection to their neighborhood or their home community and how it impacts their
lives now as well as their future. The next section will reveal their connection to the
MESA community. The last section will show how the intersection between their
home community and the MESA community shapes their view of the “real world”.
Home Community
The participants in the study attend the local high school in their
neighborhood. The majority of families in their neighborhoods receive Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) from the United States Department of
Health and Human Services that provides financial assistance to children whose
families have low or no income. When asked to describe the neighborhood she lives
in, one participant said, “There are a lot of gang bangers in my block, many pregnant
girls, and a whole bunch of high school drop outs. I used to see them here in school
but now they all dropped out.” Her best friend, another participant added, “Gangs
try to tell us that it is really better to go into this [gangs], because you will be safe in
this neighborhood. But, nobody is ever safe, so you do not know what is going to

85
happen.” She continued to share how the neighborhood she lived in has impacted
her family and her well-being.
They [neighbors] are really loud...they would have parties, like every day
sometimes. Or, there will be like really bad people going to the other side,
like my neighbors’ house. And, that is why we moved because there was like
a lot of problems. There was always drug dealers, and stuff like that. So, my
mom was really scared when I came home, you know, that something is
going to happen...sometimes, there was umm… predators… like, you know,
that would hurt girls, and rape them.... there was some that lived in our
neighborhood... that is why we moved to another house. And, that
neighborhood is like better. It is quiet; but… well, it is quiet from how
people screamed before because they would always have parties, or
something bad might happen, like helicopters, like going around, and stuff
like that. So yeah, we did not get that much sleep.

Every day both her and her younger sister attempted to study in their apartment
despite their surroundings but eventually her parents recognized that this type of
environment would not be conducive to getting much studying done. Her family
moved out of this area to a neighborhood a few miles away, requiring her to take a
30 minute bus ride to and from school. Though the new community has been an
improvement from the past, it is still common for the police to close off their street
until midnight due to drug busts or arrests. She whispered in a lower voice, a little
embarrassed, that sometimes she falls asleep in school the next day when these
situations occur. She has come to accept that this is a reality in her life until she
leaves for college and commented, "I am like, okay. I will just do good in school. I
do not want to live in this neighborhood.” To the majority of the participants, getting
into a college is the only ticket out of their neighborhood. They view their present

86
living situation as temporary “until I get a really good career after college”
commented one participant.
The participants appear cognizant of the realities of their neighborhood and
how those outside their neighborhood perceive them. One student said, "Nobody has
ever heard of our school and it's in South Central. There are a lot of people that are
going to judge you but you are just going to have to move on." These students
believe that moving on is their only option. They refuse to be replicates of those
around them. Being confronted with their present reality has stirred up a desire to be
different. In a community where the majority of adults have no more than a high
school diploma, being different means going to college. Living in this reality for
years, one participant expressed,
In my community there are not many people who actually get to go to college
and I’ve seen all their economic struggles and everything. And I, for one, do
not want to be a part of that. I’ve seen… I’ve known how life is difficult, and
everything, when you don’t have the education. And I really don’t want to
live up to those standards. So I want something better for me and my family.

She continued to express, “I do not want to live like that. I do not want to stay here –
in the hood, the ghetto, forever. I am guessing college is the way to get out of there.”
When talking about their neighborhood, the participants speak passionately. Their
connection to the realities of their environment has stirred up a deep desire to leave
and disconnect from their neighborhood one day, bringing their families along with
them. Their fear of remaining in “the hood, the ghetto” has driven them to search for
means to hopefully get them out. The participants joined MESA their freshman year,

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not realizing they were entering into an environment that fosters a college-going
culture.
MESA Community
As stated in the MESA syllabus, the purpose of the program is to “Motivate
and prepare disadvantaged students to become competitively eligible to the
University of California and their colleges of choice and to major in math, science,
or engineering”. Two of the goals and objectives listed in the syllabus focus on
creating a college-going culture and building a sense of community among the
students. The participants in the study chose to participate in the USC-MESA
program as an extracurricular activity at their schools. On a weekly basis, students
on one campus arrive by 6:45am or give up their entire lunch period on another
campus to attend the MESA meetings. In preparing for USC-MESA competitions, it
is not unusual for the students stay late after school everyday or give up their entire
weekend to prepare for the upcoming competition. They are willing to come to
school at 6:00am on Saturdays for the opportunity to meet local engineers to bounce
invention ideas off of or get feedback on ways to program a robot.
Coming to school an hour early or skipping out on lunch is a big sacrifice for
the typical high school student. For these students, a deep connection with the
MESA community of peers has meant more than the 5 hours of extra sleep they can
get a week or the only half hour break from their school day beginning at 7:25 a.m.
They find deep relational and intellectual connections in the MESA program. Some
participants expressed how MESA has been where they found community and where

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they have developed deep friendships. The MESA community at their school has
been one of the reasons they have continued to stay involved throughout high school.
One participant describes herself as being extremely shy. She remembered being
terrified as a new freshman in high school wondering if she will make any friends.
As she started becoming involved in MESA, she found her community. She shared,
The kids that you meet here [MESA] … in the beginning you might not know
them, but later on they become family to you … they’re just like family
because they’re always there for me...it’s like a second family and this is like
my second home...I never thought that friends can become family.

Another participant echoed the same sentiments. She admitted that MESA opened
doors for her to make new friends with students she would have never approached.
When you have to work together as a team you get these kids from different
grades. We have this club where there are friendships that you actually do
develop with the kids from other tracks and ages. It’s really, really great. I
never thought I would be friends with them and now we’re like a family.

The common interests in math, engineering, and science strengthen the friendships
and bonds forged in MESA. One participant, the president of MESA at her high
school, expressed,
Your peers that are there [in MESA] – we are all determined. We all love
math, engineering… the students in MESA do not just join for the name – to
put on their transcript. They actually like something, like math, or
engineering, or science.

Another senior initially felt disconnected from the other students at her high school.
She is passionate about biology and found MESA as a place where she really fit in
and thus she felt encouraged to continue in the program. She expressed,

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The students in the program are usually pretty intelligent. It makes me happy
knowing that I can go and talk to kids who are at the same intellectual level
as me and not 90% of the kids who are here just to pass and just get out of
high school. Just being in an environment where there’s other kids who are
like me, it really makes me happy, and want to go to school.

The USC-MESA staff members are aware that the program creates a sense of
community and continue to be intentional about fostering a safe environment where
students can feel connected to each other. One member of the USC-MESA staff
strongly felt that female students continually participate in their program because of
the “sense of community that we provide to students, academic sense of belonging”
especially since a lot of the students are at the age where they are “looking for a
sense to belong and a sense of who they are or where they want to go”. The sense of
belonging is reinforced as the students find others peers in the program that share the
same interests and academic pursuits. MESA creates room for them to explore their
interests in the STEM fields and develop new skills. One participant who said she
always wanted to become a doctor realized in MESA that she could be good at other
areas. She smiles as she says, “It’s [MESA] influenced me by opening other doors,
like some things I never ever thought I could do like software and mechanics. This
is from learning to build a boat or robot.” Another student felt proud of what she has
accomplished in light of being in MESA.
It’s fun working with robots and the fact that we can make one. You know,
usually it’s only engineers who do that and we’re students. So the fact that
we could do something that they’re doing is amazing for me.

She recounted when she was a freshman and had observed the MESA meetings.
After her freshman year, she became more involved in the program and found a

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connection with other students and an excitement for the things they were learning.
She happily expressed, “It’s [MESA] a good program and you get to learn a lot of
things about yourself that you didn’t know before.” One of her peers also felt that
MESA taught her a lot about what she is capable of accomplishing. She recounts her
experience at the robotics competition last year.
It’s neat how the kids around the world put their hearts into something that
would work. And I never did that before. I never would build anything and
after that it would, like work. And I was just interested in that and I’m like,
“Wow, I could do that.” And I didn’t think that I could!

Another participant shared similar thoughts about how MESA competitions impacted
her.
My freshman year I made it to MESA Day...we compete against people from
other schools that has USC as a MESA center. I was really happy. It was
like my first award. I participated in math and manila folder bridge….both of
them I got first [place]! My brother, he wins a lot of awards, and stuff…
there is nothing for me...now there is something for me. I was really happy!

In addition to winning awards and realizing one’s ability to accomplish what initially
appeared to be a challenge, participants also felt that MESA competitions have
caused them to improve themselves and their projects and inventions. One
participant expressed how competition has fueled her determination to improve each
year.
Every year I love going to the pre-MESA day, and competing with other
students, and seeing how I’ll do, or what I can do to improve my project for
the next year and hopefully win. So that helps, you know, me wanting to
come back.

Another participant also felt competitions were an efficacious way for her to
compare her abilities to her peers in order to hone her skills in math and science.

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It’s [MESA] just really fun and everyone comes together...you see different
people from other schools who are also in MESA... you get to see their
inventions and compare yours...then we can kind of keep in mind what you
can do better, or what they can do better.

Many participants expressed that competing with their peers when everyone is at
their best is a true test of their own skills. There is a sense of camaraderie when it
comes to pushing each other to do their best and performing at their highest ability.
The seniors agreed that whether working together in competitions or personal
lessons they’ve gleaned about themselves, MESA has provided a place where they
could connect with others like themselves while preparing for their futures. Vice-
president of her MESA club, this participant found that "MESA is like based on
knowledge and having fun too, but in a good way. We actually learning something
new that is going to help you in the future. As the seniors eagerly anticipate what
their future will hold next year, they faithfully continue in the program on a weekly
basis. One response expressed their overall feelings as a female senior in the MESA
program very well.
It’s really challenging having to get yourself up in the morning, but once you
get here [MESA meeting] it’s worth the while...because this is my last year,
it’s kind of depressing knowing that I’m going to be leaving this campus and
leaving behind the teacher who guided me, and the students who helped me.
You become a family, and I think that’s why we get up and we grind our
teeth to get here every morning. We hate it, but we see each other and it’s
worthwhile.

The connections these students have made with the MESA program are real and
evident in their lives. The MESA program has opened doors for their future, created

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opportunity for them to develop new skills, foster a love for math, science, and
engineering, and forge deep friendships.
Real World
On a weekly basis, the students at their MESA meetings discuss upcoming
competitions, college applications, and scholarship opportunities. These 12 students
are aware that there is a whole other world that exists outside of their neighborhood,
their high schools, and even MESA. This is one of the reasons they have chosen to
participate in MESA. The realities of their neighborhoods are obvious to them.
Coupled with their experience in the MESA program, they believe they have an
opportunity to better the world around them. As a child, this participant enjoyed
using her hands to build and take things apart. Today, she continues to “enjoy
building stuff from scratch” in hopes of one day “making something that will make
the world somewhat a better place”. She has continued to lead the MESA program
at her high school in the robotics competition for the past two years. Unlike some of
the classmates she describes at her high school, she has felt that
Math actually applies to a whole bunch of stuff. Math is related to all the
stuff we do everyday. So the fact that math is everywhere has … opened my
eyes to so many things like, wow, math is here and there, and we didn’t even
realize it. It is just so amazing how everything in our math and science class
applies to our everyday lives and it just attracted me towards it.

It is this very realization that math and science are practical and applicable in life that
other participants have similar sentiments. They feel purposeful in what they are
learning and doing in MESA as it will help them in what they hope to do in the
future. One student shared that her science classes will definitely “help her in the

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long run” when she has a nursing career. The students are cognizant of the world
around them and how they can impact society through what they choose to pursue.
One of the female students carries a recycled school bag and is passionate about
saving the environment. Her AP Environmental Science course impressed upon her
the responsibility she has to help clean up the environment. She regularly reminds
the students at the MESA meetings of ways they can recycle and the damage we are
doing in our environment through our carbon footprints. She hopes to study
environmental science and eventually find a job in environmental policy. Several of
her friends in MESA agree that math and science are subjects they can “really use
outside of school”. In contrast to some of her friends outside of MESA that have
difficulty understanding when they will ever use Algebra in life, one participant
shared her perspective on why her math and science courses are integral.
Algebra is everywhere. It's basic math. And I think a science class, I mean
any science class there’s physics because everything is all about movement
and chemistry because everything is built on something and biology because
everything is living. No matter what aspect you look at it, you know, there’s
always going to be a formula and something hidden behind it … so science
and math are really the basics of life.

A common sentiment shared in a focus group was that they wish their math and
science classes at their high school was more than memorizing formulas and
equations. They felt their experience in the MESA program helped them bridge the
gap between what they were learning in their textbooks and how it applies to the real
world. A USC-MESA staff member shared that the program strives to prepare the
students for the real world. He stated,

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Competition actually allows students to apply what they learned in class to a
real world situation versus sitting in class with the focus on standards where
the teachers are strictly teaching the standards and teaching to assessments…
We translate what they are learning in physics, biology, and in their calculus
classroom into how different physics concepts work. I think that is how kids
tend to learn more.

One participant confidently shared in her interview that she hopes to help the people
in her neighborhood by becoming a doctor in the future. She believes that her
classes and experience in MESA will prepare her to accomplish her goal. These are
the real world connections the students have made through devoting their time to
extensive math and science work. The real world they currently experience in their
neighborhoods has been dismal. However, the intersection of witnessing their
present environment and what they have accomplished through MESA has opened
doors for what they hope to achieve once they enter the real world.
Factors that Help or Hinder
Between life at home and life at school, high school students are daily
bombarded with verbal messages from family members, teachers, and peers. The
battle of voices that surround them become increasingly louder as they enter into a
time where decisions need to be made. The female seniors in this study hear
messages communicated to them often by those whom they love and respect the
most. It is up to them to filter out these messages and find what is the truth behind
them.
This section examines the three areas of relationships that participants have
most frequently been impacted: family, teachers, and peers. The voices

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communicate messages that help or messages that hurt the students. In addition to
the messages communicated to these students, the students share how they have been
impacted and how they respond to the battle of voices.
Family Support and Family Pressure
Many of these students felt genuinely connected to their families. They have
deeply experienced how their families have supported them and tirelessly
encouraged them to do their best. Along with the support of their families on one
hand, participants also attested to feeling an intense pressure to succeed by being the
first in their families to attend and graduate from college. The deep connections
these students have with their families often increases this pressure. When sharing
about their parents or siblings, the participants’ responses fell into two categories.
The first category is direct verbal messages. These are the words that these students
remember their family members saying to them that they replay in their minds when
thinking about the future. The second category is the indirect messages that are
communicated to the students. These messages are communicated through actions
or situations that have influenced how the students see their own futures. On
occasion the direct verbal messages were interwoven during a particular situation,
leaving a deeper impression on the student.
This is a time when the participants are faced with the biggest decision they
have ever had to make in their lives. The decisions about where to go to college and
their major will have lasting impact on them. They felt the verbal messages their
family members have expressed to them regarding their future has been a source of

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support for them. One participant couldn’t stop sharing how much her parents have
encouraged her along the way. Initially her father couldn’t understand why she was
determined to go to college. She continued to remain strong in her convictions of
college being the conduit to a better future and eventually won her father over. This
is how she expressed the messages she has received from her parents since then.
They [parents] have been very supportive, and said that, “The sky is the limit.
You can do whatever you want.” They just have never given up on me. They
have always encouraged me to be better...if I were to get a “B” in a class,
they are like, “Oh, you know, it is good. But, aim for “A".” So, the fact that
they has always been there for me... has been good.

She continued to share that initially her father was unsure about her going into
engineering. After having seen what she has been capable of through MESA, they
are, “…quite happy about that [studying engineering], because my mom believes that
women should be able to do just about everything a man can do.” She believes that
her mother’s words continue to empower her in what she hopes to pursue. Another
student shared the message she heard from her parents.
My parents said because they just can afford high school, because they [were]
poor and [had] to take care of their parents … they don’t have an opportunity
to go to college. So they have a lot of financial difficulties and they told me
to get an education so that I can live well – have a better life than they have.

She expressed that her parents tell her they are happy that she’s working hard. These
types of verbal messages from her parents encourage her to continue working harder
while reminding her of the sacrifices her parents have made in their lives so that she
will never have to do the same. Another participant also had a similar message
communicated from her parents.

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They’re [parents] like, “If you go to university, you’ll be successful. You
don’t have to work ten times as hard as we did” because you know back then
they didn’t really get a right education. They struggle with work and paying
for stuff.

As a result, she is “determined to go [to a] UC and just help my mom” in the future
because she spends a lot of money on us. Some participants expressed the financial
lengths to which their parents will go to ensure they can go to college. Despite
coming from a low-income family, one participant said her mom is doing whatever
she can to save money so she can go to college. She realizes that her mother’s
support is both verbal and financial. Another student repeated her mom’s words. “If
I have to put up the house, you know, for you to get that money, then I will do it. If
you could do it [go to college], go for it.” She feels encouraged that her mom would
go to such lengths for her to be the first in her family to go to college. She also feels
the pressure to be the one that changes her family’s future for the better when she
examines the serious sacrifices her family is willing to make for her to succeed.
Some participants shared about other family members who have been a
source of encouragement through their verbal persuasions. Several of them shared
positive messages communicated to them from their siblings. One participant felt
her sister kept her on the right track toward going to college though she did not go
herself.
Since I was little, she [older sister] has been more like my mom. She has
been there for support. My sister is like, “Keep your grades up...get
involved… in any programs. Be involved in afterschool programs...just keep
your grades high. You want to be the first to go to college.” She did not go
to college.

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Another participant also expressed how her sibling has been her main support in
guiding her toward college. She shared how her sister reminds her what she needs to
do to better herself and her future. She enjoyed imitating what her sister would say.
She says, “You should take this math course. Do this; do that.' You know, so
you can get better hands on experience.” So, she is … motivating me more,
which is kind of good. She is always saying, “Oh, you should go to university
– do this, do that. It will be better. You do not want to live this way [in the
'hood].” She always tells me, “You do not want to live like this, do you?” She
just points out the important stuff. And, I guess that is what motivates me.

Life in the “hood” is a constant reminder some family members communicate to
their children. These reminders intend to lead the participants away from their
present circumstances deemed as negative and hope to point toward a better future
outside of their home community and family situations. One participant said that her
parents tell her about going to college and getting out of the neighborhood. They
would tell her, “Do not get into bad stuff here and just continue studying…you will
consider like a really good life in the future.” She said occasionally her parent will
“just scream at me” and say, “What’s wrong with you? You have to get out there if
you want to get anywhere.” When asked what thoughts run through her mind when
she hears those words, she responded, “I was really afraid, like, 'Oh, God. I do want
to go somewhere and get out of here.’” Her parents are persistent in showing her
that going to college has to be her only option.
My parents made me think about it [going to college] ... they would take me
to their jobs...my mom is a housekeeper... she would take me to her jobs
since I was little. She was like, 'Oh, don’t become like me,' and stuff like
that. She’ll make me, like, wash clothes, dishes – and it was really hard
work, you know. I was thinking, I have to have a better future.

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She continued to share how her mom takes the bus to Malibu from South Central on
a weekly basis to clean homes. She said it was not uncommon for her mom to get
home after midnight. She has been convinced through seeing and experiencing her
mom’s hardships that she must work hard toward having a better future. Her
mother’s reality is one she hopes to avoid in her future.
Another participant also expressed that witnessing her parents’ struggles has
communicated a strong message to her.
Looking at my parents, it’s a lot of hardships that they had to go through
without their degree...dad was just fortunate enough to have this job that our
family is still surviving now ...it’s like when you see that, it makes you want
to work harder, because your family never went to college, never had that
opportunity to go further than what we have now.

The pressure to succeed is indirectly heaped upon these students when they reflect
upon the realities of their parents’ lives compared to what their future can potentially
hold for them and their families. Another participant shared non-verbal messages
communicated to them from family members. One participant shared this about an
older sibling. "She [older sister] is really smart. She has her own business… she is
doing very decent for not going to college. So, I see that. But, I am like, I know I
could do a little bit better." In her own efforts to do better than her sister, she started
taking courses at the local junior college last year to ensure that she is prepared to
enter college after graduation.
As first generation college goers, these students have instilled a determination
to better their own lives and the lives of their family members. There is inarguable
that the messages they have heard directly and indirectly have had a strong impact on

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them. The messages they receive from their parents and family members
communicate that their only option is to go to college and get out of the “hood”. The
voices of their parents and family members have been seared in their minds. Amidst
the battle of voices raging around them to go to college, there is an enormous amount
of pressure to be the one will have a life different from their parents and pave a path
for those who come after them.
Teachers
Mr. Sanchez was a former football coach for a local junior college before
becoming a high school teacher and MESA advisor. He describes himself as stern
and students are often afraid to approach him. He calls it “tough love” but the
students know that Mr. Sanchez truly cares about them. When he is not teaching his
technical design class or robotics course, Mr. Sanchez is on the phone making
connections with companies like Northrup Gruman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, or
Raytheon. He diligently pursues companies to send over representatives to speak to
the students, offer tours of their facilities, donate business attire for the students to
wear during MESA competitions, or offer financial support for the students to buy
equipment to enter the robotics competition or the solar boat competition in the
spring. It is evident that Mr. Sanchez cares about his students and believes in what
they can accomplish.
In addition to pursuing resources for the MESA students, Mr. Sanchez hopes
to instill a confidence in his students that they can be successful despite being from
South Central or a neighborhood where college is not known to be an option. When

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asked how he instills confidence in his students, he shares, “With my students, I get
to know them, see their mannerisms, their character, and what they do in class. I
then look at them as what they can be instead of what they are.” His MESA students
each have their own stories of how Mr. Sanchez has taught them to see themselves as
more than what people may expect from kids in South Central. One participant
shared that prior to MESA competitions, Mr. Sanchez usually gives a speech to get
them “really into it and start thinking higher”. He would say to them, “You do not
know these people. These people do not know you... just show them how you work
and your knowledge … they will not judge you.” She shared that despite what
stereotypes people have of Latinas, she started putting herself out there and
competing in MESA events. On occasion when she feels intimidated to speak, “He
[Mr. Sanchez] will just tell me something in order to not be shy at all.” In addition,
Mr. Sanchez would tell stories of other students who have come from the same
background to bring hope to their present reality. One participant shared,
He [Mr. Sanchez] would talk about a person who came from this school, and
you know, he had been through worse times than we have...he started talking
about how his life was in here, and how he came to Site H, and how he
struggled – trying to be better than anyone… in this neighborhood, … you
know, they call it South Central. People tried to get him into gangs, and stuff
like that. But, he would not do it, even though they beat him up the whole
day. So, that made me think like, 'Oh, he is really confident in a different
way'...that really helped me a lot.

During weekly MESA meetings, Mr. Sanchez spends more than half the time
reminding students that they are just as smart and capable as students in Beverly
Hills or Venice High School. It is easy to leave the meeting feeling inspired and

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motivated by Mr. Sanchez believing that anything is possible. In addition to Mr.
Sanchez instilling confidence in the students, he wants the students to believe in
themselves. Those who have Mr. Sanchez for a class knows he begins with an
exercise called “Affirmations”. The students stand up, give a greeting “Good
morning” or “Good Afternoon”, give their name, their age and grade level, and then
state what it is they want to be when they are older. At the end of their sharing, they
say, “And, I will be successful”. This occurs on a daily basis. When asked why he
has the students share their affirmations, Mr. Sanchez responded,
If you are focused only on the day-to-day, things seem to be all over the
place, in chaos, especially around here. If you have a goal and you are
focused on the goal, then all of a sudden the day-to-day stuff has a purpose.

Ms. Maloney, another MESA advisor and science teacher at the high school,
also spends her MESA meetings helping the students focus on their goals. One of
her students shared, “Ms. Maloney really encouraged me to join Science Olympiad
and that helped my interest in science.” In addition to fostering interest in the math
and sciences fields, Ms. Maloney devoted the past 13 years to the MESA program at
the high school. She has spent the past four years being the MESA advisor to this
group of graduating seniors. One participant expressed,
The fact that we [MESA students] stick with the same teacher year after year
after year, it really keeps us, we feel safer. This person knows us from … the
day we began, and just the fact that we have the same teacher keeps us
feeling safe.

Unfortunately, the participants have also experienced teachers at their high schools
who have been discouraging. The lack of institutional support that exists in their

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high schools has shaped their perception of the math and science fields. One
participant expressed frustration with her current math teacher.
Math, I just don’t really like it… Well, I don’t know if it’s just the teacher,
but maybe if it was a better teacher, maybe I might. I don’t do anything in
my math class, ‘cause my teacher doesn’t do anything….my teacher doesn’t
answer your questions and it’s like you have to self-teach yourself in the
class.

Another participant felt that the math teachers at her high school don’t appear to
enjoy math themselves. She initially entered high school enjoying math until she
encountered these teachers.
I am not as passionate about it [math]. But, that is why I am not going to
veer into an engineering field, because I am not as into it as I used to be. I
will not blame it on MESA since I’m still involved and enjoy it … the classes
I took and the teachers did not make it as exciting as I would want it.

She feels fortunate that her science teachers coupled with the MESA community at
her school still fuels her interest in the sciences. Other participants also felt their
teachers were pivotal to shaping their love for the sciences. One senior expressed, “I
think my AP Enviro[mental Science] teacher really influenced me in science because
he talks a lot about the environment. And I want to do my part to help the
environment as well.” Another participant added, “I’m also considering majoring in
it [environmental science], because the teacher is very passionate and it makes me
want to even look into it further when I go to college.” One of the seniors summed
up the sentiments in her interview. “A lot of the kids do not like math and science,
because it depends on the teachers they had before.” She felt convinced that having
good teachers and being a part of MESA were what propelled her into pursuing

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engineering. The participants in general felt that institutional support or lack thereof
in their high schools sites played a role in their interest to pursue or steer away from
the math and sciences.
Peers
High school can be a tumultuous time of trying to make friends and finding a
group of peers that will accept you. Often it has been known to be the breeding
ground of cliques and endless school taunting and ridicule. In just one day, someone
mocking you and bringing up your innermost insecurities can shatter your self-
esteem. Conversely, having a group of friends you identify with and who believe in
you can also help you survive the unpredictable years of high school.
Bianca is all too familiar with the taunting and the teasing. Compared to the
students on her campus, Bianca is unusual. She has completed her A-G requirements
for college and has taken the SATs and ACTs. When asked how her peers would
describe her, she said,
They [peers] say I am nerdy. They think I am always with my books…they
think I have no fun and that my life is just books and school, and more
school. So, I guess they just think I am a little nerd.

This doesn’t bother Bianca. She smiled as she shared this, almost trying to hide
some pride in being referred to as a nerd. Her peers look to her as the one who is
going to college and breaking the stereotype of those who live in the hood.
However, outside of her high school campus Bianca expressed that other students
view her differently. At a robotics competition last year, she remembered some male
students making belittling remarks to her. One boy asked her for a tool and told her,

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“Oh, why am I telling you? You are not going to be able to do this, because girls do
not know tools.” During the same competition, a group of students teased her and
said, “Oh, she’s not going to be able to do that [program the robot]…she’s a dumb
ass.” When asked how those messages affected her and whether she felt discouraged
hearing those remarks, she responded,
Oh, hell no! Just to prove them wrong I did all I could and I worked with
engineers and we actually programmed the robot, so… I proved it then...Oh,
I felt like great. I felt like I had the world on my shoulders.

As she said this, her face lit up and a smile stretched across as she continued to share
that one of the boys said, “Oh, wow. You actually do know it.” She felt that, “his
nasty attitude towards me made me realize I am not dumb. I do know this, and I can
do anything.” Bianca is cognizant of the perceptions other students from schools
outside Site H have of them. Being in MESA for the past four years has fueled her
determination to show others their capabilities.
We want to show that a south central school can actually be very competitive
and keep up with … the kids in Beverly Hills...cause like a lot of kids from,
like, Beverly Hills go, “Oh, what is this cheap school doing here? They’re
not going to be able to do anything.” And just hearing that motivates every
single one of us into proving all of them wrong. This year on the robotics
team we actually accomplished that. When we made it to the top 12 [teams
in the region] they were like, “Who’s [Site H]?” They were like, “Oh, those
cheap kids from South Central? What are they doing here?” So, you know,
the fact that we can prove them wrong is just amazing for all of us. I’m
guessing that now other schools might see that we’re more competition than
what they would usually expect from us .... they realized that we’re just as
competitive as everyone else and if we did it once, we proved them wrong
once, we can do it as many times as we want to do it.

The MESA students at Site H refuse to be the “cheap kids from South Central”.
They use the term “cheap” when describing objects or people who may be perceived

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as useless or insignificant in contrast to how objects or students in Beverly Hills are
perceived. Using the word “cheap” connotes a strong value statement both
personally and socially among the students. Despite public funding discrepancies
and perceptions those outside of her neighborhood hold of her community, Bianca
hopes that she and her and peers will be seen as strong competitors in the MESA
competitions. More than for the sake of winning, Bianca wished that other students
would,
…Not think they are on top of everything, just because they have more
resources than us. I think that – money does play a role. But, it is not
everything … as long as you are dedicated to your education – wherever you
go, you will always learn, as long as you are willing to. And, we need to
show them that money is not all that important and that we can accomplish
anything

The participants found MESA to be a place where they find peers who are similar to
them, not only in academic interests but also in their family backgrounds and
struggles. The camaraderie is strengthened through their love for the math, science,
and engineering and their dreams encouraged by those who are like-minded. The
president of the MESA club at her campus expressed,
Your peers that are there [in MESA] – we are all determined. We all love
math, engineering… the students in MESA do not just join for the name to
put on their transcript. They actually like something, like math, or
engineering, or science.

This common interest in math, science, and engineering has bonded these students
together over the past few years. One senior shared, “I never thought I would end up
being friends with them…they almost have the same interests as I do...it’s cool” and
while others described MESA as “their second family and second home”.

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The friendships forged in MESA have been a source of encouragement for
these students. It has inspired them to press on when they are faced with peers
doubting their capabilities of getting into college or telling them, “You are not going
to make it”. Some participants respond by walking away or being silent, determined
to prove the pundits wrong. However, the female seniors agreed that they feed off
each other in their MESA program to keep them on course and to guide each other
through difficult challenges.
Summary
The 12 female seniors in the study have had unique individual experiences as
well as shared experiences that have brought them to where they are today.
Determined to be the first in their families to attend a four-year university, these
students have looked to their past experiences to help them hone in on their academic
passions and pursuits. They live in environments that challenge their ability to be
successful while finding some refuge in a pre-college program that inspires them to
defy the norms of their environment. Every day they hear messages from parents,
family members, teachers, and peers and are forced to filter out the truth behind the
messages. Their journey toward college has not been an easy one, but easy is not
what is familiar to them. They are aware of the realities of their lives and can only
hope that the sacrifices they have made will be enough. In the final chapter, I will
discuss how research literature juxtaposes with the data presented. In addition, I will
review the research methodology along with limitations that occurred. Lastly, policy
recommendations and future research questions will be presented.

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CHAPTER 5
MAKING THE CONNECTIONS
Heretofore I examined a challenge that postsecondary educational institutions
in the United States have faced since World War II: the underrepresentation of
women in the mathematics and science fields in higher education. Although female
students have enrolled in postsecondary education immediately after high school at
higher rates than male students, gender discrepancies still exist among bachelors
degree recipients in mathematics and science (National Center for Education
Statistics [NCES], 2004). State and federal dollars have been spent to encourage and
prepare these underrepresented students to pursue a math-based college major in
order to close the gap that presently exists. Have these dollars been successful in
increasing the underrepresentation of women in the mathematics and science fields
by first attracting them to the field, preparing them for college entrance, and
encouraging them to see the mathematics and science majors as a viable college
major?
I studied women’s self-efficacy perception as the variable in attempting to
understand its relationship with regard to their college major choice. In particular, I
examined female high school seniors who were participants in the USC-MESA pre-
college program since their freshman year in high school and focused on gender as it
relates to self-efficacy in math and science. I asked two questions that drove the
study. The first question pertained to the role of women’s self-efficacy perceptions
in math and science when selecting a college major, while the second sought to

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understand components of the MESA program that encourages female students to
see STEM majors as a possible academic and career option for them. I approached
this study from an ethnographical perspective to observe and understand the
behavioral and intellectual processes that occurs among these female high school
seniors.
In this chapter, I will provide a brief summary of the past scholarly studies
pertaining to this area of research, a review of the study’s methodology, and an
analysis of the data collected including limitations and future research. Further, I
will suggest policy recommendations derived from the data collected in the study for
practitioners.
Theoretical Foundation
I reviewed a body of literature focusing on women self-efficacy perceptions
in the math and sciences related to their academic pursuits. Prior to examining these
theories, I examined pre-college programs that focus on increasing access to
historically underrepresented students in higher education such as Upward Bound,
TRIO, MESA, and USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI). Understanding
programs that focus on increasing the pipeline between K-12 and higher education
provided a fundamental understanding with which to examine research theories that
attempt to explain and bridge the gap.
I used Bandura’s (1986) theory on self-efficacy perceptions stemming from
his social cognitive theory as the backdrop for the study. According to this theory,
self-efficacy perceptions stem from four sources: 1.) mastery, 2.) vicarious

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experiences, 3.) verbal persuasions, and 4.) affect. In academics, self-efficacy beliefs
determine the choices that students make, the time and effort they will devote to the
task, their persistence toward their goal, and their resiliency when faced with an
obstacle. Bandura’s theory has been used as a foundation to further understand an
individual’s academic choices, motivation, and pursuits. In particular, self-efficacy
perceptions have been a backdrop in the context of the STEM domains in education.
Researchers have made STEM a central focus in studying self-efficacy in academics
and career achievement in order to explain the discrepancy between gender
representation in these academic and career fields (Betz & Hackett, 1989, Pajares,
1996, 2002, Bandura et al., 2001, Oakes, 1990).
To further examine women’s mathematics-related self-efficacy as it relates to
educational and career choices, Oakes (1990) examined the external factors of
stereotyping in math and science fields as an additional explanation for the disparity
in representation. The assertion that societal factors such as parents, school
resources, and teachers were influential in shaping the attitudes of minorities and
women toward mathematics and science and in particular, shaping how efficacious
individuals will perceive themselves to be in the STEM fields. Lent and his
colleagues (1984, 1987, 2003) sought to examine how women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in STEM fields have narrowed their academic and career goals and how
gender stereotypes have posed as a factor. From their research, women who have
taken the non-traditional pursuit of STEM majors and careers must have

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environmental support and influences to positively shape their self-efficacy
perceptions.
Zeldin and Pajares (2002) sought to unearth the impact of self-efficacy
perceptions in women who have persisted in the STEM majors and have obtained a
career in the field despite societal barriers. Their qualitative approach to examining
the phenomenon resulted in two themes. First, vicarious experience and verbal
persuasions were integral factors in developing and maintaining self-efficacy beliefs
for women in mathematics-related careers. In particular, due to the academic and
social obstacles present in male-dominated fields, the need for verbal encouragement
and persuasion appear especially important for women. Secondly, their research
supported Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory that women’s self-efficacy
perceptions are an important factor in overcoming obstacles in order to achieve their
goal. The women in Zeldin and Pajares’ (2002) study reflected on specific
incidences and verbal persuasions in their academic careers that motivated them to
persist in their goal of majoring in the STEM fields.
These scholarly studies implied that the underrepresentation of women in the
mathematics and science fields are due to a lack of academic preparation, a lack of
positive self-efficacy perception, and cultural stereotypes that have discouraged
women in the field. Whether this is true in regards to women’s self-efficacy
perceptions in math and science and its impact on their college major choice is still
ambiguous, especially for individuals who are not part of the dominant society and
will be the first in their families to attend college. The process these women

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experienced at the crossroad where these choices are made are not apparent in the
literature. In addition, the support of a pre-college program whose sole focus is to
prepare disadvantaged students for success in school and college particularly in the
mathematics and science fields has not been examined. The goal of my study
brought forth a deeper understanding to how women’s self-efficacy perceptions in
math and science influence the academic and career decisions they will make.
Review of Methodology
In order to address the research focus, I chose a qualitative approach rather
than a quantitative approach. Utilizing a naturalistic, qualitative approach gave me
the ability to gather rich and thick descriptions from my subjects as I got to ask the
“how” and “what” questions. I also chose this type of ethnographic approach in
order to capture a holistic perspective of the realities of these students. In order to
give voice to the research participants, I used four methods from ethnography: 1.)
in-depth interview, 2.) focus group, 3.) observation, and 4.) document analysis.
Examining cultural behaviors through four various methods improve the credibility
of the research results (Wolcott, 1975). By using these four methods to conduct my
study, data was cross-checked and triangulated. I also used member checking to
improve the trustworthiness of my findings. To ensure that my observations were
unbiased, I employed member checking. For example, I would stop and reiterate
what I had just heard from the individual and ensure that I understood the meaning
behind what they were expressing and before I proceeded on to the next question.
This process was an integral step in checking for consistency in the responses during

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the interview and communicated to the individual that I was paying close attention to
their responses. Often when I reiterated their responses back to them for
confirmation, they continued to expand on what they were expressing. When this
occurred, I had the opportunity to gather richer descriptions from their responses.
After the interview, I submitted transcripts for each interviewee to review and ensure
accuracy of what they said or meant. If findings from these four methods were
convergent, I considered the data trustworthy. Since each interview was audiotaped,
I went back and listened to each interview while reading through the interview
transcription. Having listened to the recorded interview with the transcribed text in
front of me later became helpful when I went back to the code the transcriptions. I
was familiar with text, and consequently the themes that emerged from the text
became easier to identify.
The first method utilized was an in-depth interview. In-depth interviews
provided an opportunity for me to hear participants’ personal perceptions and
experiences and give them voice that I could not observe. The second method was
the focus group. The focus group allowed me to confirm my findings through a
convergence or divergence of data collected from in-depth interviews, observations,
and document analysis. The third method was participant observation. This method
was an informative way to bring forth constructs by means of attentive listening and
taking note of what I heard and through consistent observation. Through participant
observation, I noticed patterns of behavior and the ethos of the USC-MESA
program. The last method was document analysis. Document analysis oriented me

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so I could make sense of the USC-MESA program through the collection of pertinent
documents. The data collected provided the history of MESA that I could not have
known through observations.
My original plan was to interview 18 female high school students at the
proposed two sites and the 18 would comprise the whole population of my research
interest. When the study was conducted, I found 12 rather than 18 seniors that
qualified for the study. As planned, ten females were interviewed from the first site
that qualified as participants in the USC-MESA program starting their freshman
year. The MESA advisor at the second site initially gave me a roster of students in
the program in which I identified eight female seniors. Instead, when I started to
attend the meetings in the fall, I found only two female MESA seniors that
participated in the program. I chose to conduct two in-depth interviews with each of
them. In addition, I decided to interview three of the female juniors that have
participated in the program starting their freshman year. My decision to interview
these three additional students was based upon their consistent involvement and
participation in the program and competitions starting their freshman year. Though
they were not applying to college this past fall, they were able to share their personal
experiences with the MESA program and they were also close to completing high
school and are at the point where they have started to think about their futures.
Between the two sites, a total of 15 female MESA students were involved in the
individual in-depth interviews. Along with the female students, I interviewed three
USC-MESA advisors and three USC-MESA staff members including the director of

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the program. In total, 23 in-depth interviews were conducted and audio-taped with
each interview approximately 30-45 minutes long.
I also conducted two focus group interviews. Originally, four focus group
interviews were planned but the Los Angeles Unified School District (LASUSD)
Internal Review Board (IRB) requested that no official audio-recorded focus group
interviews be conducted on their campuses. The first group included five female
seniors from Site A who were active participants in the program. This interview was
formal and was audio-recorded. I had a list of questions and each student took turns
to respond to the questions. This focus group interview lasted approximately 30
minutes. I also offered to help them with their personal statements for their college
applications if they wanted. A few of them took me up on the offer. The second
group consisted of the two seniors and three juniors from Site H. This informal
interview lasted approximately 45 minutes and was not audio-recorded per the
request of LAUSD IRB. I sat with the students, asked them questions about their
college application process since they were in the thick of application submission,
their feelings about going to college, their families and neighborhood, and their
perception of the USC-MESA program.
As planned, I was a participant observer at the weekly USC-MESA meetings
at the two high school sites for a total of 24 formal meeting observations or 18 hours.
During the weekly meetings, I would observe how the advisor interacted with his or
her students, how the students interacted with each other, and what was discussed at
each meeting. Due to the nature of the differing school schedules at the two sites, I

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was also able to spend an additional one to two hours after the formal weekly
meeting. I considered these nine additional hours of informal observations as an
opportunity to build rapport with the students and a way to create a sense of trust
between us. In total, I spent 28 hours of formal and informal hours of observation at
the two sites. The prolonged engagement with the students and advisors increased
the reliability of data collected from the individual and group interviews. The time
spent over several months of observations allowed me to find convergence between
statements made in interviews and observed interactions.
In addition to the formal and informal hours of observation, I also spent 21.5
hours observing three USC-MESA events and one regional competition. The USC-
MESA events were between three to five hours long depending on the event. The
first event was the USC-MESA Advisors Retreat where they gathered to test out the
new competitions that will be added to the MESA curriculum. In addition, time was
set aside to focus on issues advisors were struggling with on their campus. The
second event was the USC-MESA Student Leadership retreat. Originally I had
planned on observing this event but was later asked to be a facilitator for one of the
student groups. I also took part in the USC-College Day hosted by the USC Viterbi
School of Engineering. I spotted students from one of the high school sites I was
conducting my study at and decided to join them for the day. I chose to do this in
order to gain a thorough picture of their experience that day and get instant feedback
on their perspective throughout the day. I followed them on the campus tour,

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attended the same college workshops, ate lunch together, and joined them as they
met with representatives at various colleges that were present.
Several parents of the individuals from my study were present that day. I
spent some time getting to know them as they shared about themselves and their
families. I also attended one more event where USC-MESA students from both of
the high school sites participated. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Regional
Invention Challenge was hosted at Site H in October. The participants in my study
from Site H along with their peers in the MESA program entered into the
competition. I observed how participants behaved in competition against other
schools and responded under competitive circumstances. With the opportunities for
prolonged engagement with the students and advisors at weekly meetings and USC-
MESA events, I developed patterns and relationships of meaning throughout this
research process (Creswell, 2003). To ensure that a holistic perspective guided my
research, I spent a total of 49.5 hours of observation to focus on the program and its
participants (Wolcott, 1975).
The last method I used to gather data about the USC-MESA program was
document analysis. Document analysis helped me understand the history of the
program that I could not have recognized through observations alone. It assisted me
making sense of the USC-MESA program and their overarching goals. The
documents were valuable in the data collection process because it created a path of
inquiry through which to initiate interview questions.

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Once I completed data collection, I used Creswell’s (2003) Six Step Plan for
data analysis. The transcriptions from each interview were organized by participant
and read several times through. I employed member-checking during and after each
interview, which increased the reliability of data. Each interview was then carefully
coded and placed into an Excel spreadsheet by category. Concurrently, I gathered
my field notes and together with the transcriptions generated categories and themes
that emerged from the data. The themes that surfaced were established as a
framework in which to guide the voices of the participants narrated in Chapter Four.
Limitations
Due to a constraint on time and space, my study had its limitations. These
limitations ranged from the number of participants in the study to the type of data
collection that was employed. In reflecting upon how the study was initially
proposed against the data findings, I came across additional limitations. The
limitations will be discussed as follows: 1) site selection, 2) participant selection,
and 3) research time frame.
Site Selection
When considering site selection for the study, I examined two USC-MESA
high schools for specific reasons. One high school site was chosen because it was
one of the oldest schools in the USC-MESA program. The other site was chosen
because it was one of the newest schools that had a fairly large participation. I
gathered this information in one of my initial meetings with the USC-MESA
director. He recommended both sites because their student participation level in the

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program was consistent and considered “large” in comparison to the other high
school sites. The two sites were located in different districts, which affected the type
of data collection that was allowed. I was not able to conduct any formal focus
group interviews per the request of the LAUSD IRB, thus limiting one avenue of
triangulating my data from observations and individual interviews. In addition, I
recognized that choosing one of the oldest USC-MESA sites and one of the newest
schools did not allow for a thorough cross-section of participation and experience. If
time were not a constraint, I would have wanted to increase the number of sites
included in the study and thus get a greater sample of subjects.
Participant Selection
I initially set out to interview 18 female high school seniors at the two USC-
MESA sites. Upon proposing to conduct the study, I was given the student roster at
one of the high school sites. It had indicated that there were at least eight female
juniors who would be seniors in the program in the fall. When I arrived at the high
school, only two female seniors were represented. Therefore, instead of 18 female
seniors as originally anticipated, I was limited to interviewing 12 female high school
seniors. I decided to then include three female high school juniors from that site in
order to gather more perspective on the program. In addition, due to LAUSD IRB
policy, I conducted an informal focus group interview with the five female MESA
students on the Site H campus. Due to the inconsistency in the attendance of the
female MESA students on the Site A campus, I conducted one rather than two focus
group interviews.

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My initial research proposal set out to interview female USC-MESA seniors,
their advisors, and the USC-MESA staff. Due to limitations of time, I did not
consider including parents as participants in the study. In retrospect, I realize that
my study was limited since parents were not included as an additional source of data.
My data could have been further triangulated should parents have been considered as
participants in the study as well.
In addition, since the study was focusing on the self-efficacy of women in
mathematics and science, I intentionally excluded the participants’ ethnicity and
socio-economic status. Looking back, I recognize that the participants’ ethnicity and
socio-economic status may play a role in further understanding their self-efficacy
perceptions in mathematics and science.
Research Time Frame
I recognize that the majority of the research and data collection was
conducted between the months of August and December. Though it was valuable to
observe and interact with students during these stressful months of applying for
college, I also recognize that the majority of their competitions occur in months
between February and May. The time constraint on my study did not allow for
further observations of the female students and their behavior before, during, and
after competitions as the USC-MESA program believes that competition is an
efficacious way of preparing students for STEM majors and careers. If I were not
limited in terms of time to conduct the study, it would have been valuable to carry

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out the study through May and prolong observations in order to further triangulate
the data.
Theoretical Implications
In chapter four, I presented the data from key participant interviews
supported by data from advisor and staff interviews, focus group discussions,
observations, and documents. I organized and coded the data by category, and drew
themes that emerged from the findings. The three conceptual categories that
surfaced from the findings were (a) personal awareness, (b) connection to
environment, and (c) factors that help or hinder. The participants shared their
personal stories of how they became involved in the USC-MESA program, their
thoughts and feelings of math and science as it relates to their college major, and
factors that have influenced them in their college pursuits.
This section discusses the theoretical implications of the study’s findings on
the role of female seniors’ self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science
when determining a college major. Presentation of the data analysis is supported and
triangulated by individual interviews, focus groups, prolonged observations, and
documents. The outcomes will serve as a guide for policy recommendations and
program improvement. The intention is to assist educators, program administrators,
and researchers in becoming more aware of women’s self-efficacy perceptions in
math and science and its impact on their academic and career pursuits.

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Revisiting Data: Personal Awareness
The female senior participants were able to reflect upon their own
experiences from childhood and express reasons for why they have participated in
the USC-MESA program for the past four years in high school. They held the ability
to judge their own capabilities in order to support their rationale for their present
interest in the math and sciences and their desire to pursue the field. Bandura (1986)
theorized this judgment of capabilities as one’s self-efficacy perception and
connected it to how it shapes students’ effort and persistence in a task. Self-efficacy
perceptions have been argued as stemming from four sources. Bandura (1986, 1997)
argued that the most important source comes from the interpretation of one’s past
performance, which he named mastery experiences. In accordance with the
requirements to participate in the USC-MESA program, all the participants are
currently meeting the University of California A-G requirements which meant that
they were enrolled in Algebra by the 9
th
grade and continued into higher level math
classes each consecutive year. In addition, all the participants enrolled in advanced
levels of science such as biology, chemistry, and physics. The trajectory of the
courses taken by these female students and their ability to persist in them supports
Bandura’s (1986) assertion that mastery of a task creates a strong sense of efficacy to
accomplish a similar task in the future. The evidence that these students have
mastered challenging course after another demonstrates a strong self-efficacy
perception in these domains.

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In further dialogue with these students, several shared their experiences prior
to entering high school that influenced their love for math and science. Participants
recounted trips with their parents to Griffith Park Observatory or winning science
fairs in school that left positive emotions regarding math and science domains. Their
preference for the STEM fields cannot be disconnected from these experiences.
According to Zeldin and Pajares (2000), students who are exposed to mathematics-
related content early on find this domain comfortable and familiar thus creating a
positive self-efficacy perception in the area. This positive self-efficacy perception
has contributed to these students’ resiliency when faced with obstacles or when
tackling an unfamiliar task in the domain.
Pajares (1996) argued individuals with high self-efficacy will experience
feelings of serenity in approaching difficult tasks and activities while low self-
efficacy beliefs may foster emotions of stress and depression. In chapter four,
students revealed personal stories that spoke of determination, confidence, and
resilience. Their struggles in math are often masked by their unwillingness to relent
in the face of obstacles. Whereas individuals with low self-efficacy beliefs may lend
themselves to emotions of depression, these students are optimistic in nature,
determined to learn from their mistakes, and cleave to the “I’m going to do it”
attitude. Often their “I’m going to do it” attitude is fueled by a belief that “girls can
do it too” or a sense of “girl power”. Internally, they are aware of the stereotypes
that surround them. They believe they are capable despite not seeing “that many
female scientists or engineers out there” and hypothesize that other women get

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“discouraged when they don’t see any [female scientists or engineers]”. One
participant expressed that the way to get more women in the field is to show
“females what we do, the hands-on science, the math, and the engineering, and the
importance and the usage in this world”. This strong self-efficacy perception
supports Bandura’s (1986) hypothesis that an individual’s strong self-efficacy
perception in academic domains will create a sense of confidence to pursue further
study. From the individual and focus group interviews in conjunction to
observations, these students not only set their goal on attending a four-year college
or university and breaking stereotypes, but being the first in their families to
accomplish this task.
Zimmerman and colleagues (1992) examined the connection between the role
of self-efficacy beliefs in goal setting for academic attainment and found a strong
positive correlation. Their quantitative study of high school students found a parallel
between students’ academic goals and perceived self-efficacy beliefs and suggested
that the higher the perceived self-efficacy, the higher the goals student set for
themselves. In this study, these female seniors have navigated through some of the
most challenging math and science courses in high school and have continued to set
high goals and aspirations for themselves as they apply to universities like USC,
UCLA, UCSD under their pre-med, engineering, and science majors. In conjunction
to Maple and Stage’s (1991) linear path analysis model, the academic choice of
one’s sophomore year of high school, particularly their math and science experience,
was a significant predictor of the field of study in college. From a linear model

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perspective with only academics in consideration, these participants are supporting
the theory behind the mathematics and scientific pipeline. However, among their
peers and within their neighborhoods, these participants are considered the exception
rather than the norm. While Maple and Stages’ study (1991) examined internal
factors, it did not take into consideration external factors related to one’s
environment. In the next section, I will examine how their connection to the
environment has shaped their self-efficacy perceptions and influenced their academic
choices and what literature has revealed about this connection.
Revisiting Data: Connection to Environment
Participants in this study come from distinct environments that have impacted
their lives as well as their future. As discussed in chapter four, the students are
aware that people inside and outside their community refer to their neighborhood as
the “ghetto” or the “hood”. Their fears of remaining in this environment affect the
choices they make on a daily basis and drive them to connect to a different world
that creates a different reality for them. The previous section examined how theories
on self-efficacy perceptions and academic achievement come to explain the personal
awareness of the participants and how the role of self-efficacy perceptions in math
and science has influenced both their academic goals. This section examines
participants’ connections to their neighborhoods in contrast to the MESA
community, and what research literature purports on the role of environment on their
self-efficacy perceptions. I will also examine how the participants integrate their
environment into the academic and career pursuits.

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Neighborhood
The female USC-MESA seniors were cognizant of the realities of their lives
as residents in their neighborhood. When discussing the impact their neighborhood
community has on their daily lives, the discussions are passionate and strong
emotions are stirred up. They recognize that their communities do not foster a
college-going environment and “not many people actually go to college” nor
complete high school. In addition, one participant described her neighborhood as
unsafe with “many pregnant girls and a whole bunch of high school drop outs”. The
sociocultural messages that surround these participants in their community do not
directly communicate messages of hope for their future nor support their dreams of
becoming an engineer. One participant shared, “that [messages from the
neighborhood] only encourages me to go further and not live up to those
standards…prove them all wrong”. These females seniors are insistent on finding a
means to get out of this type of environment and perceive going to college as the
only ticket out. The notion of socialization presents new and revealing information,
as it has not appeared in literature when discussing external factors influencing
women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math and science.
Eccles’ (1986) study on differences in gender differences in academic
achievement among college women argued that capable women might not enter
male-dominated occupations such as engineering, due to the gender stereotypes
associated with women who pursue male-dominated fields. No mention was made
of their socialization experiences from childhood that impacted the college women

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and their beliefs of academic and career options. It is undeniable that the female
USC-MESA seniors living “in the ghetto” are deeply affected by their environments
and demonstrate the impact that socialization experiences have on academic options.
For these students, going to college and pursuing a career in math or science refutes
the gender stereotypes in their neighborhoods to “just get pregnant and make
babies”. But rather than succumbing to the expectations their environment, the
determination to break through cycle of expectations of their environment is what
motivates them.
The extant literature on the role of women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math
and science on college major choice does not focus on the connection one has with
their neighborhood community as a factor that influences self-efficacy perceptions.
Research on women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math and science that have
addressed environmental and societal factors have translated these factors to be
parent and teacher support without consideration of how the actual neighborhood
environment and its messages play a role on those who are products of their
environment (Eccles, 1986; Farmer, 1987; Oakes 1990). Data revealed a connection
between students’ academic pursuit and their neighborhood environment. The next
section will discuss a connection to their MESA community and the role it plays in
fostering their self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science.
MESA Community
When the participants share about their experiences in MESA, they express
pride in belonging to a community where they can find deep relational and

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intellectual connections. Deep friendships among the females have been forged over
the past four years through common interests in math, engineering, and science to a
point where they would describe their community to be “a second family” and
MESA on their school campuses as their “second home”. In contrast to their
neighborhoods, participants describe the MESA community as a place where they
“really fit in” and a place where they feel empowered about their college-bound
future. One USC-MESA staff described the community as a place that provides the
students an academic sense of belonging and the possibilities of where they can go.
This opportunity gives room to explore their interests in the STEM fields, and builds
a strong sense of self-efficacy among the female students.
The four sources that foster self-efficacy perceptions are illustrated within the
MESA community. In addition to mastery in math and science courses that the
students must take in order to continue their participation in the MESA program, the
annual competitions give the students an opportunity to improve from the previous
year. The USC-MESA program acknowledges that competition is an efficacious
way to prepare students for the STEM fields. Several participants expressed that
these competitions helped them see how they can improve their projects for the
following year and “keep in mind what they can do better”. In addition, the chance
to observe their peers performing a particular task or competition often
communicates a positive message to the students that they too have the similar
capabilities of performing the task. Bandura (1986) describes this as vicarious
experiences that the students encounter. One participant recounted her experience

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watching other students build a robot the year before she participated in the robotics
competition and realized that she too was capable of do something like that. In
addition to vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, the third source that fosters self-
efficacy perceptions, positively influences the self-efficacy perceptions among these
students. The impact of verbal messages and social encouragement will be discussed
in the section on Factors that Help or Hinder. Prevalent in the MESA community is
the role of affect as it relates to self-efficacy beliefs. According to Pajares (1996),
individuals with high self-efficacy perceptions are not as susceptible to emotions of
stress and depression when approaching difficult tasks but rather adopt a sense of
optimism. The participants used words such as happy, proud, excited, encouraged,
worthwhile, and capable in describing their experience in the USC-MESA program,
in contrast to words such as fear, disconnect, struggle, difficult, unsafe, and scared
when talking about their neighborhoods. Ethington and Wolfe (1988) examined the
concept of attitude as an indirect role in course pursuit and field of study and
suggested that women who possessed positive attitude toward mathematics were
more likely to select a quantitative college major. Though it can be asserted that the
majority of female seniors in this study who plan to select a quantitative college
major possess a positive attitude in math, researchers Ethington and Wolfe (1988)
overlooked the context and process in which a positive math attitude can be fostered
or the role of social support can play on women’s self-efficacy perceptions in those
academic domains.

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Lent and his colleagues (2003) explain the impact of perceived support such
as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) as one factor that contributes to women’s
self-efficacy in a non-traditional major in college. Like SWE, the MESA program
focuses on supporting women going into non-traditional majors and strives to
eliminate social barriers prior to entering college. In the MESA community, staff
and advisors dispel societal stereotypes of women entering traditionally male-
dominated fields by creating room for the female students to explore their interests in
STEM and creating a sense of belonging. It has been a place where the students
have found peers who are similar to them and built on the camaraderie of mutual
interests and hopes for the future. This type of support found in MESA, similar to
Lent et al’s (2003) examination of the impact of SWE, has also lent itself to fostering
a determination in the participants to dispel perceptions of what low-income schools
are capable of. The community found in the MESA program not only contributes to
the participants’ self-efficacy in a non-traditional area of study for women, but also
contributes to building a strong self-efficacy perception among the participants that
they can break societal stereotypes of people in low-income neighborhoods.
Research has taken quantitative approaches to find correlates and predictors
of women’s choice to pursue or not to pursue mathematics or STEM majors or
created linear models such as the social cognitive career theory to connect academic
achievement with career interests (Armstrong and Price, 1982; Lent et al, 1987).
From the data, participants’ self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science and
their desire to pursue STEM majors have been influenced by the world around them.

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Based on their perception of their academic abilities, these students have a personal
reason behind choosing to pursue a STEM major. Beyond the predictive model that
those who are good in math will select a math-based major, their awareness of the
needs that exist in the real world have led them down the STEM path.
Participants shared feelings such as “wanting to make the world a better
place”, “advancing our economics through science”, and “helping to clean up the
environment” as reasons for selecting a STEM major. Their present real world
appears bleak. However, their experience in the MESA community has painted a
different picture for them. This picture illustrates for them that going to college and
pursuing a STEM major will be the exit from this present reality in the “hood” and
open doors to a better reality. A commonly shared sentiment was that the MESA
program bridges with what they are learning to the real world that lies ahead.
Ethington and Wolfe (1988) attribute this positive attitude toward mathematics as an
indication towards a likelihood of selecting a quantitative college major. Data from
this study has shown that the combination of their positive attitude in mathematics
and the possibility of what they are convinced they can accomplish through the study
of mathematics has resulted in selecting a quantitative major. In addition, their
strong self-efficacy perception in math and science has led them to foresee
themselves as agents of hope for their own families and the real world around them.
Revisiting Data: Factors that Help or Hinder
In the midst of living in two different worlds, these MESA seniors are
attuned to the voices that communicate messages of hope and messages of hurt.

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These voices come from their families and teachers. This section juxtaposes the
findings from the data with what literature posits about the impact of verbal
messages on women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math and science.
Family
According to Bandura (1977), social messages convince people that they are
capable of succeeding at a particular task and affirm their competence. Zeldin and
Pajares (2000) continued to profess the importance of verbal persuasions through
their study of women currently in mathematics, science, or technology-related
careers. Similar in response to the women in their study, the female MESA students
regarded the verbal messages such as “The sky is the limit”, “Keep your grades up”,
and “If you could go to college, go for it” as words of encouragement and
affirmation from their family. These messages engendered an attitude in the women
that they could do anything by building their confidence and empowering their
abilities to face the toughest of challenges. In this case, it is to be the first in their
families to go to college. Zeldin and Pajares (2000) affirmed that the source of self-
efficacy perception that comes from verbal encouragement and persuasion possesses
a greater weight for women in male-dominated fields due to the academic and social
obstacles they face. In addition, parents act as social forces that shape women’s self-
efficacy beliefs particularly in math (Eccles and Jacobs, 1986). Though some
parents from Zeldin and Pajares’ study (2000) like most parent of these participants,
did not have a career in the STEM field, the verbal messages instilled a “mental
toughness” in their children in the face of obstacles. Both the women in Zeldin and

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Pajares’ (2000) study and the female MESA students in this study had little trouble
recounting messages of empowerment from family members in considering a STEM
major or career. The female MESA students depend on these messages as a source
of hope and encouragement for their futures. In addition to these verbal messages
that instill confidence in them, non-verbal messages surround them that also play
into their determination for a better future.
The female MESA seniors carry the weight of being the first in their families
to go to college. Throughout their lives, they have witnessed the financial
difficulties of their parents and the hardships they experience which has
communicated an even stronger message in them. The fear of never getting out of
the “hood” and replicating the same struggles of their parents also serve as a
motivation to tackle any obstacles ahead of them. Contrary to Pajares’ (2002)
finding that parents often underestimate their daughters’ academic competence and
hold lower expectations for them, the parents of this group of female seniors have
high expectations for them. These high expectations have been communicated
verbally and non-verbally through critical moments in their lives. Zeldin and Pajares
(2000) found that these critical moments that women had with their parents and
families propelled their self-efficacy perceptions. For the participants in this study,
these moments have been witnessing the financial struggles of their parents or
knowing that their mom comes home after midnight from a full day of cleaning other
people’s homes. Families have served as their “active encouragers” as these

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participants work hard at having a better future for themselves and their families
(Armstrong and Price, 1982).
Teachers
In addition to family influences, participants shared encouraging and
discouraging messages that have shaped their view on themselves and what they are
capable of accomplishing. The extant literature is unclear about whether the impact
of teachers’ beliefs in students’ mathematical ability is as large as that of parents’
beliefs. However, the role teachers play in developing female students’ interest in
math and science is undeniable (Armstrong and Price, 1982; Eccles Parsons,
Kaczala, and Meece, 1982; Eccles and Jacobs, 1986; Zeldin and Pajares, 2000).
Some participants expressed dispassion in math due to their teacher’s own disinterest
in teaching the subject and had to “self-teach” themselves in the class. Another
expressed a loss of passion in math and felt that a better teacher may have continued
spurring their interest in the subject. Armstrong and Price (1982) stressed the
importance of teachers playing a role in encouraging women’s participation in
mathematics through taking more mathematics courses and seeking out careers in
mathematics. In this case, the participant decided she was not going to “veer into an
engineering field” because the classes she took and the teachers no longer made the
subject as exciting as she once experienced.
On the other hand, other participants felt their teachers were pivotal in
shaping their love for the sciences and have been instrumental in helping them
determine their major in college. The same could be said of teachers and their role in

135
encouraging students to pursue science. Several participants enjoyed their
environmental science course and considered majoring in environmental sciences
primarily because of their teacher’s passion in the subject. One participant was
convinced that “kids do not like math and science depending on the teachers they
had before”. Further, the impact of institutional support has played an integral role
in the participants’ continual interest and pursuit of the STEM field from high school
to their college major choice.
Aware of the realities of their institution, the MESA advisors are determined
to foster the students’ interest in math and science despite the experiences the
students have had with other teachers. They create a safe space for the students by
matriculating with them from year to year as their MESA advisor and devoting time
outside of their regular teaching responsibilities. Mr. Sanchez refuses to let his
South Central students think they can be any less successful despite how others may
judge them. Zeldin and Pajares (2000) believed that teachers, both male and female,
were extremely influential in the development of students’ competence and
confidence. One participant shared that Mr. Sanchez encourages her to be confident
in speaking and helps her overcome her shyness when leading her peers in MESA.
In observing a teacher like Mr. Sanchez, it is evident that he believes his students are
as capable as students from Beverly Hills or Venice High School of achieving and
winning MESA competitions. The MESA students at his high school have been
strong competitors in the USC-MESA Robotics Competitions for the past four years.
Last year they placed first in the competition among LAUSD schools. Teachers such

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as Mr. Sanchez persist in being a voice of empowerment to the students despite what
his colleagues may communicate to the students and is determined to help his
students see that what they do from day-to-day has a purpose. In accordance with
Zeldin and Pajares’ (2000) findings, the female participants have been particularly
responsive to the verbal messages of encouragement from their teachers and as a
result, the female students have been as competitive in the MESA events as their
male peers.
The MESA program seeks to reduce the number of historically
underrepresented students in college and universities through academic preparation
in the mathematics and science fields. More importantly, the goal is to incite interest
in engineering, science or other math-related careers among these students, activate
their academic capabilities, and encourage a college-going culture. In an effort to
advance the discussion of the mechanisms within the USC-MESA program that
support these goals, I now turn to policy recommendations.
Policy Recommendations
Based on the data findings, I have formulated the following recommendations
for policymakers, administrators, and educators whose focus is on increasing the
number of underrepresented populations in higher education. In particular, these
policy recommendations are targeted for programs such as USC-MESA who partner
with teachers and administrators at local schools to fulfill their mission of increasing
access to college and have been developed from the theoretical findings from this
study. Despite the fact that the USC-MESA program is decentralized and carried out

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on different school campuses, there are general themes and areas of improvement
that can be implemented in the program as a whole, as well as on each campus.
These suggested improvements or policy recommendations provide practical ways
for the USC-MESA program and partnering schools to improve the self-efficacy
perceptions of female high school students in mathematics and science and shed light
into components of the pre-college program that best encourage these students to
choose STEM majors in college. The four recommendations are as follows: 1)
cultivate parental involvement for parents of USC-MESA students; 2) garner
institutional support; 3) maintain high program standards; 4) increase partnerships
with other USC programs to improve retention.
Cultivate Parental Involvement for Parents of USC-MESA Students
According to Jun and Colyar (2002), families play an integral role in the
patterns of inequality from generation to generation. Many of the students in the
USC-MESA program are seeking to break this cycle of inequality by becoming first
generation college-goers. This often means navigating the college application and
preparation process with little to no help from their parents as opposed to high and
middle income families that have learned to navigate through the school system on
their children’s behalf (Lareau, 1989). Within the USC-MESA program, there exists
a need to involve families more directly.
The study findings indicated that families played a large role in fostering a
strong self-efficacy perception in mathematics and science through their verbal
messages. The participants found a deep sense of self-confidence that they are able

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to achieve what their parents have never been able to do before. Their ability to face
and overcome social and academic obstacles in their community and schools
stemmed from the confidence built into them by their parents and family members.
Given the stereotypes that discourage women from entering scientific careers, those
aspiring to STEM fields will have a different cognitive nature from those who accept
conventional wisdom and do not challenge the status quo (Bar-Haim & Wilkes,
1989). These women need family members and advocates who encourage them to
be confident in their own judgment.
In the general MESA syllabus for the 2008-2009 school year, one parent
orientation meeting was scheduled in the month of October and one session was held
for parents to inform them about financial aid for college at the MESA College Day
at USC. USC-MESA advisors expressed that a challenge to recruiting and retaining
students in the MESA program at their schools was the lack of “parent buy-in”.
Within the USC-MESA program parents are generally exposed to the college-going
process. However, study results indicate that parents and families are integral in
sending messages about what female students believe they are capable of achieving.
It is important for key stakeholders in the program to implement a component in the
program that offers parents consistent resources to help the students successfully
enter college. In addition, because parents are integral in communicating
expectations for their daughters, it is important to inform and train parents on how to
verbally and non-verbally encourage their daughter’s future academic and career
aspirations.

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At one of the two high school sites, the MESA advisor initiated parent
meetings every other month to inform parents to reinforce the importance of their
participation in their child’s success. These meetings offered diverse social networks
and helped parents comprehend the power of social capital resources that could be
gained through participating in these meetings. Creating consistent opportunities
for parents of the USC-MESA students to realize their integral role in the college-
going process, be it filling out financial aid forms or learning about college
application deadlines, would not only assist in retaining students in the MESA
program but also help the students break the cycle of inequality that has been passed
on from previous generations.
Garner Institutional Support
In addition to cultivating parental involvement, a need for institutional
support is needed in a program like USC-MESA that is student-centered, focusing
their resources on students who are selected and admitted into the program but
primarily based on each school campus (Gandara, 2002). Though the USC-MESA
director holds a letter of support from each school administrator that has agreed to
have the MESA program on their campus, MESA advisors have deemed
administrative support as lacking but integral to the recruitment of students. MESA
is a club on most high school campuses and meet at lunchtime with some that meet
before or after school. One of the two sites in the study previously had MESA as a
class period and found that schedule to be conducive to incorporating activities or
facilitating science demonstrations. A noticeable drop in attendance occurred when

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the meeting time was moved to zero period as students were already over-extended
in their extra-curricular activities.
The study findings reveal that the quality of teachers in the math and science
courses influence students’ interest and desire to pursue the STEM fields. The
majority of students expressed their interest in the math and science despite the
quality of institutional support because the MESA program offered hands-on
experience and helped them connect what they were doing in the math and science
courses to real world applications. Evident in the impact that this program can have
on students’ self-efficacy perceptions in the domain, institutions should consider
implementing a MESA period as an elective course to help retain students in the
program and augment the regular curricular offerings in the schools. In addition,
students who take elective mathematics and science courses after they complete their
college preparation requirements will have more opportunities to prepare them to
major in scientific fields in college (Oakes, 1990).
Maintain High Program Standards
Having a well-trained and qualified staff focused on maintaining high
program standards is a key determinant of a good program. The USC-MESA
program is currently comprised of three staff members. Aside from the director of
the program, the two other staff members collaborate on building the MESA
curriculum as one member oversees the middle schools and the other staff oversees
the high schools in the program. Each participating school has at least one advisor
on campus that is a full-time teacher. In light of the data, the two high school sites

141
had different focuses during their meetings. One campus spent the majority of the
MESA meeting time preparing for competitions while the other campus spent little
to no time discussing logistics of competitions but rather spent the majority of their
meeting time talking about issues related to college-going such as college
applications, personal statements, and applying for scholarships. While the goal of
the USC-MESA program sets out to motivate and prepare disadvantaged students to
become competitive and eligible to major in a STEM field at a university or college,
it appeared that depending on the advisor and their personal strengths and character,
the focus was usually on one or the other. The data revealed that the USC-MESA
advisor’s personal leadership characteristics and charisma had strong impacts on
their students. The USC-MESA program would benefit from increasing the
leadership training that occurs among the MESA advisors. As a result, MESA
advisors who possess strong leadership characteristics could train new MESA
advisors in how to effectively lead their program and students on their own campus.
In addition, having an additional USC-MESA staff member dedicated to
assisting advisors by coming to their campus to offer sessions on practical steps in
college applications, conducting a session on writing personal statements, or filling
out scholarship applications could lift the burden off advisors to squeeze both
competition preparation and college-going issues in the once-a-week meetings.
Increase Partnership with other USC Programs to Improve Retention
Recruiting and retaining targeted students in the MESA program has been a
challenge for USC-MESA advisors. The challenges in recruitment have ranged from

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the meeting times, competition with other activities, lack of administrative support,
to lack of student motivation. In 2005-2006 the percentage of USC-MESA student
re-enrollment was 49% and climbed to 57% in the 2006-2007 school year. Not
enough research has been conducted to further understand the challenges in the
retention of students in the program. Students who have left the program have not
been contacted to better understand their reasons for leaving.
As one avenue to encourage students to continue participating from year to
year, the USC-MESA program has offered a scholarship of $1000 for graduating
seniors that have participated all four years in high school and are college-bound.
Recognizing that most of these students come from low-income families and would
need more assistance in going to college, USC-MESA should partner with other
programs in the USC Community Education Academy to maximize the resources
available for their students. These partnerships could improve the services available
to parents as well as financial assistance targeted for promising students that USC-
MESA is unable to offer with their limited resources. In addition, looking ahead to
partner with organizations in colleges and universities that provide support for
underrepresented students in STEM majors such as the Society of Women Engineers
will not only help women in the transition from high school to college, but also
provide a support system to help retain women in the major.
Recommendations for Future Research
In this study I examined the role of women’s self-efficacy perceptions in
mathematics and science on their college major choice. The suggestions that I

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offered within this chapter are not exhaustive due to the constraints of space and
time. Thus this research study has its limitations. The study’s limitations have been
the impetus for recommendations for future research. The recommendations for
future research are as follows: 1) include multiple sites, 2) increase participant
selection, 3) extend the research time frame, and 4) examine the significance of peer
influence.
Include Multiple Sites
The USC-MESA program is conducted at 15 high schools in the greater Los
Angeles region. Twelve of the 15 high schools are within LAUSD and the three
other high schools are within their own districts. Future research would benefit from
including more than two high schools sites as part of the study despite the two
schools being the oldest and newest in the program. Increasing the number of sites
represented in the study will provide a greater cross-section of participation in the
study. In addition, examining multiple sites that have a large female student
population in their MESA will provide a greater cross-section of experiences.
Increase Participant Selection
The increase in multiples sites and choosing sites that have large female
student representation would provide increased descriptions for understanding
women’s self-efficacy perceptions in math and science. By including more female
students participating in the study, the study’s findings would increase in validity and
reliability. Though not addressed in this study, the increase in participant selection
in future research will also increase the representation of different ethnicities

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included in the study. Though the USC-MESA program serves students who are
categorized as disadvantaged and historically underrepresented in higher education, a
greater cross-section of participants will allow for an opportunity to examine whether
ethnic backgrounds of participants play a role in their self-efficacy perceptions in
mathematics and science. Further, as disclosed in the data analysis of this study,
including parents as study participants would also allow for greater triangulation
among the data collected.
Extend the Research Time Frame
As mentioned in the section on limitations earlier in this chapter, the majority
of the research and data collection was conducted between the months of August and
December. Since the USC-MESA program sees competition as an efficacious way
to prepare students for STEM majors, future studies would benefit from observing
the entire senior year and seeing first-hand how they respond before, during, and
after competitions and how it influences their self-efficacy perceptions in math and
science. In addition, future research would also benefit from examining from a
longitudinal perspective whether these women who possess strong self-efficacy
perceptions in math and science persist and graduate with a STEM major in college.
Examine the Significance of Peer Influence
While it was beyond the scope of this study, further research would benefit
from examining how peers affect the lives and decisions of female high school
students. In particular, high school serves a dual context where parents and teachers
see it as an educational context whereas youth look to it as a place to learn and meet

145
with their friends (Tierney & Colyar, 2005). Within this context, peers may possess
some degree of influence over college and academic aspirations. Peers as external
influences were not the intention of my research study but the data revealed some
significance of peers in the lives of these students. Since the students are in a
developmental stage where peers appear to have an influence in their participation in
programs, future researchers can examine current theories relating to peer group
influence on self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science as it relates to
academic and career pursuits.
Conclusion
In closing, this study confirms the role of women’s self-efficacy perceptions
in mathematics and science in their college major choice. The findings from this
study support USC-MESA’s desire to foster an encouraging environment where
female students can find community and where social and academic obstacles
traditionally found in the STEM fields are not present. It also brought forth the
integral role parents, families, and teachers play in fostering self-efficacy
perceptions of women in math and science. Pre-college programs such as USC-
MESA often stand alone in their mission to prepare historically disadvantaged
students for college. In order for these students to be the first to go to college and
graduate, a perfect intersection of advocates from their home, school, and
community must commit to their success. Rather than attributing the success of
these students to a program or school, we must examine why students themselves
become outliers among their peers. Policy makers, educators, and program

146
administrators must collaborate to ensure that rigorous evaluation of these
intervention programs examine what works, for whom, and under what
circumstances (Gandara, 2002). In the current economic state, it is integral to
reexamine how program resources are used, institutional dollars are spent, and
whether students are receiving the highest margin of return for every dollar spent on
advancing their future.

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151
APPENDIX A
STUDENT PARTICIPANT
A. Interviewee Background Information
1. Briefly describe how you first get involved with the MESA program.
2. What interests you about the field of math and science?
3. Do your parents currently work in any of the STEM fields? If so, how does
that shape your perception of the field?

B. Individual perspective on math and science self-efficacy
1. What do you enjoy about your math courses? Science courses?
2. In your opinion, how have you done academically in your math and science
courses?
3. What are some benefits to being in your math and sciences classes?
4. Who or what has influenced you to persist in these math and science courses?
5. Are there any particular characteristics that you associate with people who
major in math and science in college?
6. What are you planning on majoring in when you get to college?
7. What factors or individuals have contributed to your college major decision?
How?

C. Individual perspective on the MESA program
1. Describe how you first got involved with the MESA program.
2. What factors have contributed to your continual participation and interest in
the program?
3. In your opinion, what components (lessons, competitions, peer support, etc)
of the program have been the most meaningful in helping you determine your
college major choice?

152
APPENDIX B
USC-MESA STAFF AND ADVISORS
1. In your opinion, what factors have contributed to your female students’
continual participation and interest in the program?

2. In your opinion, what components (lessons, competitions, peer support, etc)
of the program have been the most meaningful in helping women determine
their college major choice?

3. What components in the program foster women’s self-efficacy perceptions in
the math and sciences?

4. How do you see the competition preparing them for a STEM major, and
working in the STEM field?

5. What are some characteristics you have seen in female students that have
persisted in what would traditionally be a male dominated field?

153
APPENDIX C
STUDENT FOCUS GROUP
1. What experiences have you had that has led you to choose your college
major?

2. How were you influenced by others?

3. What did people (family/teachers/peers/and culture) say to you when you told
them that you were pursuing math, science, engineering, or technology?

4. How did their response affect you?

5. How would you describe your feelings about being the first in your family to
go to college?

6. Why do you think so few women pursue mathematical-related college
majors?

7. What should be done to change that?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study is an investigation into female high school seniors in the USC-MESA program and how the role of self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science relates to their college major choice. Bandura's theory on self-efficacy provides the backdrop for this study. This study is qualitative and takes an ethnographic approach incorporating 23 interviews, 2 focus groups, 49.5 hours of observation, and document analysis. Results show that female high school seniors participating in the USC-MESA program demonstrate a strong self-efficacy perception in mathematics and science through their academic choices and pursuits in high school and beyond. This finding confirms a linear approach in understanding how courses taken in high school contribute to the trajectory of college academic choices. It also challenges the theory of self-efficacy in math and science to examine historically underrepresented populations in the field and the external factors that play a key role in their persistence to pursue STEM fields in college and beyond.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Hong, Rebecca Cheng-Shun (author)

Core Title Women's self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science: investigating USC-MESA students

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publication Date 04/01/2009

Defense Date 03/05/2009

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag mathematics,OAI-PMH Harvest,pre-college program,Science,self-efficacy,STEM

Place Name University of Southern California (geographic subject)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Jun, Alexander (committee chair), Tobey, Patricia (committee member), Venegas, Kristan M. (committee member)

Creator Email rebhong@gmail.com,rhong@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2048

Unique identifier UC1199072

Identifier etd-Hong-2721 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-208442 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2048 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Hong-2721.pdf

Dmrecord 208442

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Hong, Rebecca Cheng-Shun

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu