Mentoring Women: Identifying, Developing, and Retaining STEM Stars
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Mentoring Women: Identifying, Developing, and Retaining STEM Stars A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University By Alexandra Chiara Viscosi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education August 2016 Running Head: Mentoring Women © Copyright 2016 Alexandra C. Viscosi. All Rights Reserved. ii Running Head: Mentoring Women iii Running Head: Mentoring Women Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Yvonne Torres Viscosi and Pasquale Viscosi. iv Running Head: Mentoring Women Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank my committee for guiding me through this process. To Kristy Kelly, my doctoral advisor, who endured many emails and panicked calls over the course of this process, I am forever grateful for your patience and guidance. I truly appreciate all of the positive feedback and believing in my work when I was hesitant. I hope we can continue to work together in the future. In addition, Michael Ober who went above and beyond by not only being on my committee but being a dear friend. Thank you for listening to countless hours of stories about my classes, my stresses, and supporting me through this roller coaster of a dissertation process. Not only did you offer to write me a recommendation letter to get into this program, you immediately volunteered to be a part of my committee from the very beginning. I cannot thank you enough for all you have done and how much it has meant to me. Next, I would like to give my gratitude to my co-workers and friends who helped me through the process, participated whenever they could and were supportive shoulders when I needed it. From friends who have been in my life since grade school and those who I have developed strong relationships at work over the past 4 years, it has been overwhelming to see you all step up and support me. I am very blessed to have so many truly encouraging, compassionate, and caring friends in my life who wrote letters of recommendations and believed in me when I wavered. Thank you for all that you have done – you all know who you are. Specifically, I must mention Jonathan Snow for reading (and editing) more papers than I care to admit over the course of this program, for being patient and supportive from the beginning, for making my life easier whenever you could, and overall just being there when I needed you. Thank you for being my sounding board and my rock, regardless of the sacrifices we had to make to get to this point. I am grateful to have had you in my life during this process and thank you for letting me lean on you all the way until the end. v Running Head: Mentoring Women Finally, I would like to thank my incredible family for their unyielding support. Particularly to my brother, Rob for never doubting my ability to complete this degree and my parents who have been the ultimate pillar of strength from beginning to end. To Yvonne and Pasquale, my parents, words cannot explain how grateful I am to have you both in my life. I would not be who I am or where I am today without you guys. From the beginning of my college experience ten years ago, you have been a part of my tears, my upsets, and my happiness and have never wavered in your support. To every concert, every phone call, and being the only people in my life I can always count on, I am so appreciative. When I was little you both dreamed I would get my doctorate one day and I hope I have made you proud. Thank you for everything. vi Running Head: Mentoring Women Table of Contents List of Figure .............................................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................................. 3 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................................................. 7 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................................................................... 10 Assumptions ................................................................................................................................................ 11 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 14 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 14 STEM, Education, and Women .................................................................................................................. 15 Why STEM Developed and its Importance ............................................................................................ 19 Education’s Initial Effect on STEM ........................................................................................................ 21 Women and STEM ................................................................................................................................. 24 Women and Career Development ............................................................................................................... 26 Influence of Self-Efficacy ....................................................................................................................... 27 Career Development ............................................................................................................................... 29 Women and Mentoring in STEM................................................................................................................ 30 Impact of Mentoring. .............................................................................................................................. 31 Types of Mentoring Relationships .......................................................................................................... 33 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 36 Research Design and Rationale................................................................................................................... 37 Population Description ................................................................................................................................ 39 Site Description and Access ........................................................................................................................ 39 Research Methods ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Documents Review and Analysis ........................................................................................................... 40 Survey Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 42 vii Running Head: Mentoring Women Interviews ................................................................................................................................................ 45 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................................................ 48 Limitations .................................................................................................................................................. 50 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................................... 53 Findings and Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 53 An Overview: Identifying a Mentor........................................................................................................ 57 How Mentorships Form ...................................................................................................................... 58 What do participants seek in a mentor ...............................................................................................