What's Life Got to Do With It? The Role of Life Experiences in Shaping Female Community College Students' Transfer Intent in STEM Fields of Study
ABSTRACT Transfer in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields from community colleges to 4 year institutions holds great policy significance in alleviating the female underrepresentation in the STEM pipeline, with proportionately more female students attending community colleges. Considering the knowledge gap on this often overlooked topic, we draw upon interview and survey data to explore how life experiences influence the intent to transfer among first year community college women beginning in STEM. Integrating narrative inquiry to do so, this study paints a complex portrait of two female community college students and the multiple roles and experiences they must reconcile, negotiate, and renegotiate as they navigate toward or away from transfer in STEM. The narratives that emerged reveal the complexity of transfer intent, the importance of recognizing the impact of life experiences, and the ways in which to use such experiences as supports rather than barriers to enhance the educational pathways for these students. Further discussion of implications and concluding thoughts are included.