Examining the Self Efficacy of Community College STEM Majors: Factors Related to Four Year Degree Attainment
Despite the awareness of the importance of self efficacy, this concept has been studied in a limited sense among community college students (Collins Bissell, 2004) but it has been shown to be significantly related to career decisions among enrollees (Kelly Hatcher, 2013) The literature does not address what types of experiences can improve or enhance self efficacy among college students as it relates to research and among community college students specifically. This study addresses the gap in the literature by examining what experiences can improve the self efficacy of community college students as it relates to research and whether this has an impact on their long term career plans to pursue a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career.