NOSB Participant and Past Participant Diversity Report

June 2009

Background

In spring, 2009, based upon a decision made collaboratively between the Consortium for Ocean Leadership leadership and the research team, the longitudinal study of NOSB participants and past participants was revised to include a focus on students from ethnic/racial diverse demographic populations. The intent of this study revision was twofold: first, to provide select data to Consortium for Ocean Leadership and NOSB for evaluation purposes linked to ongoing programming initiatives that have been implemented to increase the participation of under-represented minority students in NOSB activities. Second, the purpose of the study revision was to collect baseline data to inform Consortium for Ocean Leadership with respect to potential expansions of diversity initiatives, and to inform the researchers of the impact of the NOSB on students from these populations, as a subset of other high-ability secondary students who have demonstrated either interest or proclivity in STEM fields and ocean sciences particularly.

Beginning with the goals of this year’s study, further review of the literature was accomplished to identify appropriate rubrics or content areas on which to base survey items. Additionally, Consortium for Ocean Leadership provided the research team with extensive data and reports from ongoing diversity initiatives to review to enhance the potential for data collection alignment across highly differentiated programs that are already in existence, and from which students would be recruited for eventual study.

Method

Based on select literature and earlier data as noted above, an extensive revision of the previously implemented student survey was created by the research team. This survey was piloted on a group of past participants of the NOSB program who had been recruited by the research team in earlier years of the longitudinal study. The study database was queried to identify students who had self-identified as members of a defined minority population (based on the federal definitions). A group of 43 students were provided electronic links to the pilot diversity survey, and from this group, 8 students provided complete responses (approximately 20%). It should be noted that these students participate in the annual survey of all NOSB past participants, which was disseminated in the same time frame as the diversity survey. To some extent, survey fatigue and confusion regarding a second, unexpected survey likely contributed to the lower response rate than what has been expected. It is recommended that Consortium for Ocean Leadership consider permanently disaggregating minority students from the annual survey if there is an ongoing interest in collecting data specific to minority issues and concerns, so as to reduce survey fatigue for these students.

Following review of the data from the pilot administration, a slightly revised and expanded version of the diversity survey was distributed electronically to all students who participated in the 2009 NOSB competition using an electronic database and communications information provided to the research team by Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership NOSB staff and the research team concurred that participants must be allowed to self-identify their ethnicity status to prevent selection bias by sorting the database prior to distribution. Consequently, all students in the database were provided the link to the survey and asked to complete the survey only if they considered themselves a member of an under-represented population within STEM higher education or vocational fields. It is highly likely that some students elected not to complete the survey based on a personal identity determination that they were individually not at-risk, i.e. personal confidence levels, family backgrounds, and academic achievement levels may have mitigated the self-identification of these students as being at-risk. This issue should be explored more carefully in the literature to identify mechanisms for recruitment of students of interest into the study that do not rely on self-identification or status.

The surveys described above were implemented between late February and late May, 2009, using an online commercial software package. Students were provided a URL to access the survey, which tracked each student by personal email address cross-referenced with the master study database maintained by the research team and provided to Consortium for Ocean Leadership annually. The data are summarized in the following sections of this report in three sections. Section one summarizes the pilot responses for the 8 students who are already out of secondary school and at various stages in the post-secondary education pipeline. These students have provided objective documentation that they have persisted in the STEM pipeline at the post-secondary level. Section two of the report below summarizes the responses of the 16 students from the 2009 NOSB participation cohort. These students’ responses indicate their perceptions of continued participation in the STEM pipeline, but given their educational level, there are no objective, post-hoc data to support this yet. Section three below cross-compiles the responses from both groups of diversity students (a label selected by Consortium for Ocean Leadership staff and the research team for purposes of the study) which suggest common characteristics, factors, variables, or demographic responses from these two groups of diversity students.

Data Summary

Past Participant Survey Pilot

The survey included a series of narrative response items to allow respondents to discuss their experiences through formal education as minority students, particularly in relationship to STEM areas and the NOSB. Generally, the 8 respondents did not express a perception of obstacles or challenges with which they were faced pertaining to choices or desires to engage with STEM opportunities. It appeared from the response patterns and locations that these students either pre-dated the formal diversity programs offered under NOSB auspices, or were from regions where these programs were not offered. Four of the students noted that they had been captains of their NOSB teams while in high school, and expressed select benefits from this opportunity. Select narrative responses included:

  • I was a team captain when I participated in NOSB and learned how to develop a competitive team while I was a senior in high school.
  • I was the team captain for my team for all four years of participation. Being the team captain helped me manage the strengths of my team and taught me how to work the team to allow us to delegate to cover for each other’s weaknesses.
  • Temporary captain-ship [of my team]. Mostly just practicing communications skills and fast on the feet thinking.

These ancillary skills that were associated with team leadership, i.e. team development, management strategies, and communications skills, were found in an earlier study of the NOSB program (Walters and Bishop, 2003) to be associated with the types of leadership and academic skills important for leadership in the vocational STEM areas, and for success in the modern graduate school arena.

Select demographic items which were collected on the survey suggested that a majority of the students, who are now primarily college upperclassmen, came from homes where another significant family member was already employed in a STEM-related professional field. This observation aligns with that of other researchers who observe that family association to a professional field may predispose an adolescent toward that field. The students who responded to the survey indicated their specific regional NOSB bowl affiliations to include the five bowls as follows (one of these bowls have been involved with the funded diversity programs under the NOSB ):

  • Otter Bowl (California)
  • Aloha Bowl (Hawaii)
  • Dolphin Challenge (Texas)
  • Blue Lobster Bowl (Massachusetts)
  • Hurricane Bowl (Mississippi).

Other demographic items demonstrate that these 8 students are engaged in post-secondary education leading to degrees in STEM fields (primarily physical science and chemistry/biochemistry and engineering) and to a lesser degree mathematics. Only a single respondent had taken a course in marine, aquatic or ocean sciences, although 3 of the 8 indicated they were pursuing a career that would ultimately include an emphasis in one or more of these three areas. These numbers, again from a small sample, are nevertheless consistent with the observations from the broader student survey of NOSB part participants—where most students obtain general science degrees and move on to specialized graduate training in oceanography. Interestingly, once again a large proportion (75% or 6 students) indicate that they have remained in communication with their former NOSB team members and their high school coaches. The importance of these NOSB coaches and the social community that has been developed over the years among team members cannot be overstated, and remains an area of interest for the researchers. It is again recommended to Consortium for Ocean Leadership that an investment be made in developing and formalizing a communications structure to create and maintain a social community on the web for the coaches and past participants of the NOSB.

Specific issues or challenges that pertained to minority students were indiscernible among the 8 students who completed responses to this survey. A single reference to Asian American students from a student suggested that “they represent a rather large group in academia and most programs such as research experiences tend to target other minorities” thereby creating a challenge for Asian American students. A second student who was of Asian descent suggested that “apparently I’m not minority enough” as a way of also referencing the tension that exists in defining “at-risk,” “diversity,” and “minority” within the STEM career field. While the researchers relied on students to self-identify, it is clear from the literature and apparently to some students that new languages and variables are needed to discuss and plan interventions in science education for students who have untapped potential for the STEM community.

2009 NOSB Cohort Survey

In April 2009, the diversity survey was expanded to include additional demographic response items based on further conversations with Consortium for Ocean Leadership personal and review of select literature. Consortium for Ocean Leadership provided an excel database with email addresses for the 2009 cohort of participants, who were contacted and invited to participate in the study. Permission to collect data from the students was obtained from Ashland University’s Institutional Review Board previously. As the students were invited to self-select into the study based on self-identification of themselves as minority students, it is not currently possible to determine an accurate response rate, as the base of all diversity students program-wide is not determinable. Sixteen students provided complete responses to the survey. Of these 16, six were first year participants in NOSB, 5 were second year participants, and 5 were third year participants. The bowls from which they participated regionally included:

  • Aloha (1)
  • Bay Scallop (1)
  • Dolphin (2)
  • Loggerhead (1)
  • Los Angeles Surf (1)
  • Manatee (3)
  • Quahog (1)
  • Sea Lion (2)
  • Shore (2)
  • Spoonbill (2)

It is observed that all of the responding diversity students were seniors. All of these were either first or second year participants. On its face, this appears to be a different distribution of participation for survey respondents from past NOSB student surveys. As the NOSB has matured, the stability in the school and regional programs has created teams where students can participate for multiple years. In numerous cases, schools have developed a first and second team approach to train younger students in preparation for the upper division team. These minority students are reporting at their senior year in high school that they were participating in NOSB for only one or two years. This observation should be pursued for additional understanding of the recruitment paths and circumstances at these particular schools, i.e. are these expanding teams or new highs schools and regions which have greater numbers of diversity students involved in science, or is NOSB recruiting diversity students differently in the last year?

Given this distribution of students, which does not cluster around the specific regional bowls which have been funded for intentional diversity activities, the data captured through this survey should not serve as the basis for evaluation of the funded diversity activities, but only as baseline data for the generalized experience of diversity students in the NOSB regional programs and baseline data for understanding the experiences of minority students generally within the domains captured in the survey items. Students were asked to select their ethnicity from 4 categories or to self-identify in an open-ended response their chosen ethnicity. These responses included:

  • African American (1)
  • Hispanic//Latino/Latina (6)
  • Native Pacific Islander (1)
  • Asian (2)
  • North African (1)
  • Italian (1)
  • Caucasian (3)

The responses from the students who indicated they were Caucasian were filtered from the data during analysis, as these responses seemed to represent categories outside of typically defined diversity demographics. The response data for the student self-reporting Italian as ethnic origin was left in the dataset based on lack of clear guidance from literature. If this student perceives him/herself as under-represented or at-risk based on socio-economic or other historical standards, the researcher is not empowered to minimize this perception.

Only 31% (4) of the responding diversity students reported significant family members engaged in STEM-related employment fields. This is a substantial difference from the previous survey respondent group, and potentially an important indicator to monitor for Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The recruitment of first-generation-STEM students into the pipeline, i.e. students without a family member as a role model, may serve as an effectiveness indicator for NOSB diversity programs.

Respondents were asked to rank the importance of a selection of participation factors which may have related to their participation in NOSB. Interestingly, the responses were polarized into two clusters: six students (40% of responses) indicated they participated because of “quality teaching of ocean science topics.” A group of 4 students (27%) joined NOSB, viewing it as an afterschool activity or club. Two students joined for the field trips (13%). Taken together, these last two categories (social activities and field trips) are comprised by 40% of the responses, the same response rate as the quality teaching category. These data are consistent with that of earlier studies of the program—that NOSB appeals to some students for primarily academic and intellectual reasons, but to other students for the social experiences obtained through participation. The responses of the diversity students are consistent with that of the general population of participants for these items.

Two demographic items solicited responses regarding coursework in ocean sciences. Of the 13 diversity students responding, seven have taken coursework in marine, aquatic, or ocean sciences. Six of these students have not. Five of the students indicate that their careers will ultimately include an emphasis in these content areas, while six indicate it will not and two indicate that they do not know at this point in their education careers. It is interesting to observe that at their senior year of high school (the end of the senior year), two very high ability students continue to report they have not made a decision regarding career path. Again, there is a very small sample here, but the issue of delayed decision-making for career choices should be considered in future research on diversity students in the NOSB.

A large proportion of the respondents indicate that they strongly agreed with the statement that “I enjoy science more now that I have participated in NOSB” (9 of the 13) with the other four students selecting Agree as a response to this statement. All of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that “they have a better appreciation for what scientists do after participating in NOSB. 84% (11 student of the diversity students) indicated that they have chosen to take more science or math courses because of participating in the NOSB program. Finally, all (13) of the diversity respondents indicated that they have a greater awareness of the possibility of a career in science after participating in the NOSB (and 77% of the 13 reported that they had the opportunity to interact directly with a scientist during the NOSB program). It is noteworthy that these responses are provided, first, immediately in proximity to the competition year for NOSB for these students, and second, at the culmination of the senior year of school for nearly all of the students—a point in time where the responses are highly credible and pertinent to the students.

With respect to the issue of meeting or interacting with a scientist, a highly important observation from 8 of the diversity students (62%) was that they “met a scientist, undergraduate, or graduate students who was also a member of my ethnic or racial group” during the NOSB competition. Again noting the small sample size, it is still noteworthy for NOSB that recruitment of volunteers and competition staff has also included individuals who are from diverse populations. It is recommended that this data be collected regionally as further documentation for the NOSB program, if it is not already being done.