Citation
Inkelas, K. (2011). Living-learning programs for women in STEM. New Directions for Institutional Research 152, 27-37.
Highlights
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- The study’s objective was to review the evidence of the effects of living-learning programs (LLPs)—shared residences at postsecondary institutions designed to bridge in- and out-of-class learning and establish tight-knit communities—on academic and other outcomes for women in STEM disciplines.
- The author reviewed studies that compared the short- and long-term academic outcomes of female STEM majors who participated in LLPs, particularly women-only STEM LLPs, to male and female STEM majors who did not participate in such programs. Many of these studies relied on the 2007 National Study of Living-Learning Programs, which encompassed programs at more than 50 U.S. colleges and universities and represented the responses of 22,519 students; other university-specific studies from Michigan State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Michigan were included.
- The study found that participants in a women-only STEM LLPs were more likely to attend graduate school in a STEM field than were female STEM majors who participated in coeducational STEM LLPs, non-STEM LLPs, or no LLP, by 35, 31, and 29 percent, respectively.
- Participants in a women-only STEM LLP at the University of Michigan were more likely to persist in STEM majors than were male or female nonparticipants with similar academic interests and achievement.
Reviewed by CLEAR
May 2016