Professor Simpkins receives $1.5M NSF grant to study math and science motivation
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The National Science Foundation awarded Professor Sandra Simpkins a three-year, $1.5 million grant, “Who’s Motivated to Pursue Math and Science? Testing Replications of Processes from Grade School to Occupations in Multiple Data Sets."
One of the most immediate determinants of individuals’ STEM outcomes is their motivational beliefs. Using seven existing data sets, Simpkins and her research team will explore who is motivated to pursue mathematics and science, what sustains students’ motivation, and if those processes vary across development and historical time. The grant has several goals and facets. First, it will examine changes and patterns in students’ mathematics and science motivational beliefs from first to 12th grade. Second, it will test the extent to which the changes in students’ motivation predict their mathematics and science achievement and coursework, and STEM college/career choices. Next, it will determine the extent to which parent STEM experience and support predicts students’ motivation. It will also examine intersectionality among gender, race/ethnicity, and college generation, and test conceptual replication across datasets and historical time. |
Professor Sandra Simpkins
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“The road to STEM careers is composed of a series of choices and achievements that begin in childhood and continue throughout life – this is often referred to as the STEM pipeline,” Simpkins said. “To understand the STEM pipeline, the field needs studies that examine educational experiences from grade school to college/occupational choices and that document what processes support or undermine the STEM pipeline during multiple developmental periods.”
The project focuses on broadening participation of underrepresented individuals by investigating their mathematics and science motivational beliefs, STEM outcomes, and parental correlates. Testing these processes across multiple datasets, Simpkins explained, provides a more comprehensive understanding of group differences in terms of measurement, mean-level differences, and process-level differences.
The project focuses on broadening participation of underrepresented individuals by investigating their mathematics and science motivational beliefs, STEM outcomes, and parental correlates. Testing these processes across multiple datasets, Simpkins explained, provides a more comprehensive understanding of group differences in terms of measurement, mean-level differences, and process-level differences.
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“This information is fundamental for rigorous research and helps identify groups that might benefit from interventions, and which supports might be most beneficial for whom,” Simpkins said. “The current project extends prior work to focus on equity, diversifying the STEM workforce, and providing more concrete insight into the specific pathways toward promoting and enhancing STEM participation for underrepresented groups.”
The work builds off a previous NSF grant that Simpkins led – “Family Support of Math and Science: Examining an Untapped Source of Resilience for Diverse High School Students” – which looked at the role parents play in students’ STEM trajectories. |
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To understand the STEM pipeline, the field needs studies that examine educational experiences from grade school to college/occupational choices and that document what processes support or undermine the STEM pipeline during multiple developmental periods.”
- Sandra Simpkins, Professor /
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Simpkins’ team has disseminated several central findings from that project. Though oftentimes students’ motivational beliefs typically decline over time, they found increases in students’ science identities and increases in students’ math motivational beliefs for certain groups. Moreover, their team found that support from parents and siblings promotes high school students’ motivational beliefs, and that support from family can be particularly helpful when they are facing challenges.
Distinguished Professor Jacquelynne Eccles will serve as co-principal investigator on the new NSF grant.
Simpkins’ research focuses on how families and organized after-school activities shape youth functioning, and how those processes vary across social position factors, such as ethnicity and social class. As director of the Center for Afterschool and Summer Excellence (CASE), Simpkins engages colleagues and doctoral students in research on improving the lives of diverse youth.
In 2019, Simpkins was awarded the School of Education Faculty Mentorship Award for Inclusive Excellence in recognition of her significant impact, through formal and informal mentoring, on the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students.
In 2020, the Association for Psychological Science named Simpkins a Fellow of the Association in recognition of her “sustained contributions to the advancement of psychological science.”
Distinguished Professor Jacquelynne Eccles will serve as co-principal investigator on the new NSF grant.
Simpkins’ research focuses on how families and organized after-school activities shape youth functioning, and how those processes vary across social position factors, such as ethnicity and social class. As director of the Center for Afterschool and Summer Excellence (CASE), Simpkins engages colleagues and doctoral students in research on improving the lives of diverse youth.
In 2019, Simpkins was awarded the School of Education Faculty Mentorship Award for Inclusive Excellence in recognition of her significant impact, through formal and informal mentoring, on the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students.
In 2020, the Association for Psychological Science named Simpkins a Fellow of the Association in recognition of her “sustained contributions to the advancement of psychological science.”
