Academic Journal
What is Competition in STEM Classes? "It's Not Just the Curve".
| Τίτλος: | What is Competition in STEM Classes? "It's Not Just the Curve". |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Tatapudy S; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195., Boukouzis K; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195., Kayal IS; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195., Socko R; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195., Rajesh M; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195., Theobald EJ; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195. |
| Πηγή: | CBE life sciences education [CBE Life Sci Educ] 2026 Sep; Vol. 25 (3), pp. ar31. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 31. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: American Society for Cell Biology Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101269039 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1931-7913 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19317913 NLM ISO Abbreviation: CBE Life Sci Educ Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Bethesda, MD : American Society for Cell Biology, c2006- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Science*/education , Mathematics*/education , Engineering*/education , Technology*/education , Competitive Behavior*, Humans ; Students |
| Περίληψη: | The culture of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is often cited as being competitive. This creates a driving force for attrition from these fields, especially for minoritized students. But what-according to students-defines competition in the STEM classroom environment? This study seeks to answer that question by examining the factors that students report as contributing to competition in STEM classrooms. To do this, we conducted semistructured interviews with 25 first-generation and racially minoritized students enrolled in an introductory biology course, and with experience in other university-level STEM courses. Using thematic analysis, we identified four broad categories shaping students' sense of competition: student factors (e.g., grade comparisons), instructor factors (e.g., instructor messaging), course factors (e.g., grading), and out-of-class factors (e.g., intended career goals). These findings suggest that competition is not a singular classroom characteristic but rather a multidimensional experience shaped by interpersonal, environmental, and structural factors. We contextualize our findings in a conceptual framework of competition, which identifies how trait-competitiveness, perceived environmental competitiveness, and structural competition all shape competition. Our findings help operationalize these dimensions of competition in STEM classrooms and provide actionable context for mitigating the disproportionate impact of competition on minoritized students. |
| Competing Interests: | Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing financial interest. |
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| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260831 Date Completed: 20260831 Latest Revision: 20260903 |
| Update Code: | 20260903 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13532851 |
| DOI: | 10.1187/cbe.25-03-0050 |
| PMID: | 42673543 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1931-7913 |
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| DOI: | 10.1187/cbe.25-03-0050 |