03/11/2025
By Zakkiyya Witherspoon

The School of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Kathryn Murphy "Equity and the Enrollment Gap: Leveraging Peer Mentorship, Curriculum and Family Communication to Increase Self-Efficacy and Enrollment Interest in Advanced Science, Technology, and Engineering Courses for Latinx and Low-Income Students”

Candidate: Kathryn Murphy
Degree: Doctoral- Leadership in Schooling (STEM)
Defense Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Remote Zoom link
Thesis/Dissertation Title: "Equity and the Enrollment Gap: Leveraging Peer Mentorship, Curriculum, and Family Communication to Increase Self-Efficacy and Enrollment Interest in Advanced Science, Technology, and Engineering Courses for Latinx and Low-Income Students”

Dissertation Committee
Dissertation Chair: Michelle Scribner, Ed.D, Clinical Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Dissertation Committee Member: Bill Goldsworthy, Ed.D, Adjunct Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Dissertation Committee Member: Eleanor Abrams, Ph.D, Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract
This study examines the enrollment gap in advanced science, technology, and engineering (STE) courses for Latinx and low-income students. Using the principles of improvement science, a seven-week plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle was conducted with thirty-six tenth-grade biology students at one mid-sized urban high school in Northeast United States. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of peer mentorship and Advanced Placement (AP) STE program exposure on Latinx and low-income student self-efficacy and enrollment interest in Advanced Placement (AP) STE courses. Students and their families were given information weekly about the AP STE program, and students participated in small group discussions with AP STE Ambassadors as a part of a peer mentorship program. Data were collected using a sequential mixed-method approach that included a pre and post-intervention survey, weekly pulse checks, and a post-intervention focus group. Findings indicated that the intervention effectively increased self-efficacy and enrollment interest in AP STE courses for Latinx and low-income students more-so than their peers. The results suggest that change in outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and vicarious learning align with Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). Based on these findings, recommendations for program development emphasized establishment of targeted peer mentorship programs and curriculum to build knowledge and relationships for underrepresented students surrounding advanced science, technology, and engineering coursework.