Seventeenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

The racial gap of African Americans’ underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields remains virtually intractable (Oaks 2005, PEW 2018). Crucially, while African American workers make up 11% of the U.S. workforce overall, they represent only 9% of STEM workers. By the same token, African Americans also represent just 7% of employed adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher in a STEM field (PEW 2018). Studies of STEM degree completion trends conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) have also shown that while the share of degrees for African Americans have increased overall, the racial gap persists (2017). In this paper, we examine the determinants of the racial gap in the representation of African Americans in STEM disciplines. Specifically, we look at the extent to which African American high school academic curriculum tracking experiences shape their post-secondary college STEM vs. Non-STEM concentrations. In particular, we assess whether this gap in STEM college tracks is a structural feature of the high school education system or STEM hesitancy on the part of African Americans. We utilize data from the US Department of Education’s National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), to test hypotheses accordingly. Notably, findings from this study will help to close the racial gap of African American representation in STEM fields given the national goal of achieving a STEM capable workforce.