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Reasons why students leave STEM majors

  • Women are more likely to leave the STEM majors than men.
  • Most undergraduate students leave STEM within the first two years of their degree.
  • Early research shows that negative classroom culture is the cause of why so many students leave the major. Negative classroom culture: poorly teaching styles and highly competitive environment, which therefore lead to a loss of interest in STEM and eventually causes them to leave the major (Seymour 1995).
  • However, the social cognitive career theory found that loss of interest is not a cause of negative classroom culture, rather it is influenced by the students' confidence in the ability to succeed in STEM (self-efficacy) and their outcome expectations.

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Updated 2021-03-28

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Social Science

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