Effects of Role Models on Undergraduate Students ' Academic Performance, Sense of Belongingness, Self-efficacy and Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which selected aspects of role modellingpredict undergraduate students ' performance, self-efficacy, persistenceand sense of belongingness to Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM). The study involved a total of 749 final-year STEMstudents from three public universities in Tanzania. Overall, results fromhierarchical regression analysis indicated no significant effects. However,few exceptions were noted. For instance, the proportion of female instructorssignificantly predicted academic performance for female students. Further,personal variables such as gender identification, majoring in engineeringand attending a private school had significant influence on some dependentvariables, with notable variations across gender. The implications of thisstudy on policy and future research are discussed.Keywords: gender, higher education, role models, STEM, Tanzania