Social Perceptions and Intergroup Relations Lab Group

Research Opportunities

STEMS: Steps to Math Success Program

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Program for Research on Gender in Science and Engineering. The project titled “Interactive Effects in the Theory of Planned Behavior: Examining Attitudes, Norms, Control, and Stereotype Threat to Predict Girls' Math Performance and Intentions," is directed by Dr. Bettina Casad and Dr. Faye Wachs of the Psychology and Sociology Department, and Dr. Patricia Hale of the Mathematics Department. Funded by grant #0734124 .

Objective. The objective of the project is to offer a comprehensive model of the barriers that undermine girls’ and ethnic minorities’ interest and performance in math. The project will examine the effects of attitudes – parents’, teachers’, peers’ - and community beliefs. In particular, the project will examine the role of stereotype threat in affecting attitudes toward and performance in math. Stereotype threat is caused by a commonly held belief such as "boys are better than girls at math", that may impact an individual's performance in addition to simply affecting their beliefs about themselves.

Methodology. Cal Poly Pomona has partnered with Azusa Unified School District to conduct the project with 600 middle school students. The project has three phases consisting of questionnaires and in-depth interviews with math teachers, counselors, students, and parents and an experimental induction of stereotype threat in math classes.

Intellectual Merit. The project adds to the knowledge base in social and educational psychology by testing a comprehensive model guided by the theory of planned behavior, providing a theoretical framework to organize and extend existing knowledge. The project also proposes that stereotype threat should be examined as a mediating factor impeding girls’ and ethnic minorities’ performance and interest in math. The project will identify barriers and protective factors that affect the math performance and intentions to pursue math education and careers among girls and ethnic minorities.

Broader Impacts. The project integrates teaching, learning, and research by directly involving students in all phases of the project. Educational infrastructure will be enhanced by providing research opportunities and training to undergraduate students in psychology and sociology research. The existing networks between the university and local community and education system will be further strengthened. An executive summary of the findings will be distributed to participating schools’ principals, counselors, teachers, and parents. In addition, top level district administrators will be briefed on the findings in a report and presentation. In the reports and summaries, the investigators will make recommendations for educational practices and interventions based on the outcomes of the study. The results will be presented at national and regional conferences as well as at campus events for K-12 teacher-training, thus educating future researchers and teachers about the barriers to girls’ and minorities’ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) participation. Finally, the results will be published in leading social science journals so that other researchers can adopt the successful aspects of the methodology and theoretical framework of the project.