Institutional & Environmental Factors Impacting the Decision of Community College Students to Remain in the Future Math & Science Teacher Pipeline: A Study of UCI TEACH Math & Science Participants from 2003-2007
Although the size of the study sample places limitations on the types of analyses that can be conducted effectively, and does not lend to making generalizations, the information gleaned in this pilot study is useful to the staff and faculty involved with this MSP, as well as others who are involved with the community college future math and science teacher pipeline.
It is of interest to note that the majority of college graduates in this study earned their baccalaureate degrees from University of California campuses, considering the widespread myth among community college students, counselors, and faculty that future teachers would be best served by transferring to one of the California State University campuses (that have historically produced a much larger share of the California teaching workforce). This finding may indicate that the efforts of the MSP (and the UCI TEACH Math & Science component) have made an impact on encouraging STEM majors to transfer to the University of California. It is also noteworthy that over 80% of these students remained in the STEM pipeline, and 36.4% went on to pursue graduate studies, despite the considerable attrition from STEM majors at the undergraduate level. Further, the majority of the graduates who did not go on to K-12 teaching are pursuing teaching careers at the college and university level. This raises the issue of how community college programs might address the needs of students who have a keen interest in teaching, and would like to explore the possibility of becoming educators at the college or university level.
The negative correlation between encouragement from community college faculty to enter teaching and participation in university-level programs/clubs for future teachers suggests that more work needs to be done to make faculty aware of future teacher offerings and encourage them to promote student participation. University staff and counselors should "tap into" community college faculty and their relationships with students as a way to promote their programs and services for future teachers at the transfer point.