The relationship between sense of belonging to calculus and persistence for community college students

Urbieta, Dolores de la Torre (2022) The relationship between sense of belonging to calculus and persistence for community college students. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

As the demand for qualified science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and business college-degreed workers increases, underrepresented minorities, females, first-generation college students, and students who are economically disadvantaged remain as four high-risk STEM populations. A majority of undergraduate STEM and business programs require calculus, an advanced course in mathematics. However, students who cannot pass the required math courses must change their academic plans, making calculus a gatekeeper to high-income yielding careers in both STEM and business. Research suggests that a sense of belonging to an academic domain, specifically calculus, has an influence on students’ persistence and academic achievement. This research study seeks to obtain a better understanding of the relationship between sense of belonging to calculus and persistence for students at Brightside Community College, a two-year Hispanic-Serving and Minority Serving Institution located in the southwestern United States. The primary research question was: To what extent does a sense of belonging to calculus influence the persistence and academic achievement of students at Brightside Community College? In a mixed-methods study, the researcher used the Sense of Belonging to Calculus quantitative survey to investigate any differences in sense of belonging among six different groups. The six groups were course delivery mode, academic program, level of economic pressure, ethnicity, gender, and first-generation college student. The researcher also used qualitative data in the form of individual student interviews to complement the survey data and investigate how students at the college attain a sense of belonging to calculus.Data from the survey and the interviews were combined to provide some understanding about the research population. The findings in this study indicate that students who are under high economic stress have numerous challenges attaining a sense of belonging to calculus, pulling their time and effort away from schoolwork and delaying their academic plans. Although the students in this study indicated a willingness to persist and complete their college degree, much of their time that could have been dedicated to schoolwork was instead diverted to difficult issues related to food, housing, and safety.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	calculus; community college mathematics; economic stress; low socioeconomic status; poverty; sense of belonging
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Education > Educational Leadership
Date Deposited:	01 Jun 2023 16:55
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2023 16:55
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5939

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