AUTHOR=Barth Joan M. , Dunlap Sarah T. , Bolland Anneliese C. , McCallum Debra Moehle , Acoff Viola L. TITLE=Variability in STEM Summer Bridge Programs: Associations with Belonging and STEM Self-Efficacy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education VOLUME=6 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.667589 DOI=10.3389/feduc.2021.667589 ISSN=2504-284X ABSTRACT=
To address the challenges facing racial minority students majoring in STEM during the transition from high school to college, NSF funded Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs throughout the country implement summer bridge programs. Bridge programs vary in their focus on professional development, academic support, research experiences, social activities, and in other areas, but all share an intention to support students during their transition to college. Beyond retention, little is known about how these varied summer bridge experiences impact student outcomes in the first year of college. This study first describes the variability in the summer bridge programs in the Alabama LSAMP Alliance and then examines how differences in students’ satisfaction with their experiences are associated with feelings of belonging and STEM self-efficacy, two factors associated with STEM retention. Students (