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Education Sciences
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Pathways to Progress and Practice: Leading the Way in STEM...
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Pathways to Progress and Practice: Leading the Way in STEM Education Innovations and the Workforce

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 3045

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Donna Stokes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
Interests: physics education research; STEM student success; STEM teacher education; engineering education
Dr. Elsa Gonzalez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Education, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
Interests: underrepresented students; access, resilience, retention, graduation, and workforce in STEM fields; HSI institutions; leadership and methodological issues in cross-language qualitative methodology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Providing pathways for students to earn STEM degrees and move forward into STEM careers has been challenging for many decades, especially for those from underserved groups.  Many programs aim to foster student interest in STEM at the K-12 level; however, the translation of these students to the post-secondary level continues to pose concerns for higher education researchers and administrators (decrease).  With the national need for a diverse workforce to address technological and societal issues in areas including health care, cyber and national security, economic growth and stability, and climate change, it is pertinent that effective programming that spans across disciplines is shared and utilized to prepare future scientists and engineers that can directly contribute to the US workforce.  

This Special Issue aims to provide higher education researchers as well as administrators with guidance on effective programs that can lead to an upward trajectory in the number of students pursuing and completing STEM degrees and moving into scientific jobs. Original research articles and reviews that provide insights to improve the current model for STEM education are welcome. 

This Special Issue will provide various perspectives on programming approaches and outcomes that can be modeled at various institutions to increase the pool and success of students pursuing STEM degrees. Highlighting individual program successes may lead to an expansion of successes across institutions and/or disciplines.  Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following: recruitment and retention programs for students and/or faculty in STEM, research related to STEM teacher education programming that promotes best practices in teaching STEM to help students make connections to the content, effective informal education programs that engage undergraduates, K-12 students and/or the public in STEM activities, multidisciplinary programs that highlight faculty contributions that demonstrate effective practices, including mentoring, summer bridge programs, and teacher induction and support.  

The collective works of this Special Issue may provide a variety of pathways for promoting student interest and persistence to completing a STEM degree and movement into graduate/professional schools and/or into industry jobs. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Donna Stokes
Dr. Elsa Gonzalez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • STEM education
  • STEM teacher education
  • engineering education
  • STEM student success
  • resilience
  • diverse workforce

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 550 KiB  
Article
Latine Students’ STEM Identity Development: Reflecting on Implicit Biases, Imposter Syndrome, Self-Efficacy, and Support Systems
by Alyssa Guadalupe Cavazos, Valerie Leija and Javier Cavazos Vela
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 865; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15070865 - 5 Jul 2025
Viewed by 443
Abstract
This study used an equity ethic framework and a STEM identity model to contextualize and understand Latine students’ perceptions of STEM identity development. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Latine undergraduate students who engaged in STEM coursework perceived their learning [...] Read more.
This study used an equity ethic framework and a STEM identity model to contextualize and understand Latine students’ perceptions of STEM identity development. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Latine undergraduate students who engaged in STEM coursework perceived their learning experiences and stories of resilience through an equity ethic framework. Data were collected through interviews with 19 Latine college students attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Findings revealed the following themes related to Latine students’ STEM identity development and lived experiences in STEM coursework: implicit biases, imposter syndrome, self-efficacy, and support system and resources. Findings highlight the need for institutions of higher education to promote Latine students’ self-efficacy to positively influence STEM identity development while addressing systemic issues, such as implicit biases and imposter syndrome to create safe, growth-enhancing educational climates for students with minoritized identities. We provided implications to cultivate Latine students’ STEM identity development through inclusive teaching and learning practices that foster equitable learning environments as well as institutional resources that support students’ mental health and resilience. Implications of this study can be modeled at HSIs to positively influence STEM identity development and increase Latine students’ persistence in STEM fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathways to Progress and Practice: Leading the Way in STEM Education Innovations and the Workforce)
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15 pages, 261 KiB  
Article
Comparing STEM and Non-STEM Instructor Motivation Suggests Directions for STEM Education Innovations
by Deborah South Richardson and Robert S. Bledsoe
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(6), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060720 - 9 Jun 2025
Viewed by 367
Abstract
This study compares the motivation and teaching practices of STEM and non-STEM instructors with the aim of discovering factors that may contribute to and can be applied to improve the retention and persistence of STEM students in higher education. Instructors completed measures of [...] Read more.
This study compares the motivation and teaching practices of STEM and non-STEM instructors with the aim of discovering factors that may contribute to and can be applied to improve the retention and persistence of STEM students in higher education. Instructors completed measures of mindset, motivation, and teaching practices. We found that non-STEM instructors reported being more motivated by belief in student efficacy than STEM instructors, and they reported a greater use of evidence-based teaching practices. Subsequent analyses revealed that mastery goals predicted the use of evidence-based teaching practices for both sets of instructors; growth mindset was also a significant predictor of evidence-based teaching practices for non-STEM instructors. We propose that a pathway to STEM student success may be training and incentivizing instructors, especially those who may question students’ abilities to learn difficult STEM material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathways to Progress and Practice: Leading the Way in STEM Education Innovations and the Workforce)
22 pages, 588 KiB  
Article
Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Operationalizing the Inclusive Professional Framework to Develop STEM Faculty Change Agents
by Selyna Pérez Beverly, Quintana M. Clark, Lucas B. Hill and Donald L. Gillian-Daniel
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(1), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010077 - 13 Jan 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1683
Abstract
With the need for diverse representation in STEM, institutions have found ways to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through programs and broad institutional policies. Yet, improving the awareness of faculty regarding DEI can be instrumental in improving conditions for underrepresented students in [...] Read more.
With the need for diverse representation in STEM, institutions have found ways to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through programs and broad institutional policies. Yet, improving the awareness of faculty regarding DEI can be instrumental in improving conditions for underrepresented students in STEM. This article discusses the Inclusive Professional Framework (IPF) and its operationalization through a summer professional development program, the Aspire Summer Institute (ASI). Findings from longitudinal survey data indicated that participants increased their knowledge of, and confidence in, DEI practices. Qualitative data revealed that participants gained a personal awareness of the impact that identity had on their professional responsibilities. As a result, participants adapted their teaching approaches and changed how they interacted with students and colleagues, as well as how they contributed to institutional efforts around DEI in STEM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathways to Progress and Practice: Leading the Way in STEM Education Innovations and the Workforce)
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