CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE AS A CAREER CHOICE OF UNDERREPRESENTED 11TH AND 12TH GRADE STUDENTS IN A LOW SOCIOECONOMIC AREA HIGH SCHOOL

Abstract

The United States has a shortage of qualified workers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (Zhang & Barnett, 2015). There is a critical shortage of underrepresented students seeking science majors and possible science-based careers. The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of underrepresented juniors and seniors at a low socioeconomic status (SES) area high school about the need for science education in their possible college majors and future career choices. The study, consisting of 10 underrepresented students, developed common threads in the data collected that speak to the perceptions of underrepresented minority high school junior and senior students on science as a major and a possible career choice. The perceptions from the participants of the study may provide a clear picture for improvement of instructional strategies in science education.