Institutional & Environmental Factors Impacting the Decision of Community College Students to Remain in the Future Math & Science Teacher Pipeline: A Study of UCI TEACH Math & Science Participants from 2003-2007
3. Design, Data & Analysis
A total of 74 individuals who participated in the UCI TEACH Math & Science summer residential program between 2003-2007, and who self-identified as community college STEM majors interested in math and science teaching careers at the time of their participation in the program were invited to take part in this research study. E-mail and phone calls were used to contact these potential study members and direct them to an online survey. Participation in this study was voluntary. Responses are confidential, but not necessarily anonymous, as IP addresses were tracked to prevent multiple responses from the same person. A total of 22 participants completed the survey.
The online survey consists of 59 items in the following formats: Likert-scale, multiple-choice, dichotomous (yes/no), and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis will be used to analyze data. Key dependent variables include current status in teacher pipeline, and interest in becoming a secondary math or science teacher. Key independent variables include availability of teacher pathway information from community college, encouragement from faculty/staff/family members, availability of fieldwork opportunities through the college, availability of special programs for future teachers, last GPA reported, and gender.