The Condition of College & Career Readiness
The ACT annual report on the progress of US high school graduates relative to college readiness.
ACT / January 2016
Prior research examined career interests of first-generation and of Hispanic students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but less is known about how career outcome expectations (COEs) motivate career interests of students at the intersection: Hispanic first-generation college students. Surveying 15,725 students from 119 U.S. universities in a nationally representative stratified random sample, we found two COEs—being innovative and communal—were strongly associated with STEM career interest; however, these effects were attenuated among Hispanic first-generation college students. Findings suggested that the COEs that typically influence STEM interest may not apply to Hispanic first-generation college students—a growing population in higher education and STEM.
