Diversity and the Pipeline

Resources in this bibliography present programs and suggestions for increasing the presence and participation of ethnic minorities in higher education and specific career paths.

Books

Motha, S. (2006). Out of the safety zone. In Curtis, A. & Romney, M. (Eds.). Color, race, and English language teaching: Shades of meaning (pp. 161–172). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

The chapter discusses the need for colleges of education to invest in increasing diversity of teacher candidates and teacher educators through minority recruitment and careful mentorship.

Book Chapters

Guzman, F., Trevino, J., Lubuguin, F., & Aryan, B. (2010). Microaggressions and the pipeline for scholars of color. In D. W. Sue (Ed.), Microsaggressions and marginality: Manifestations, dynamics, and impact (pp. 145-167). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 

This chapter examines the microaggressions at the recruitment, retention, and promotion phases that impact the participation of scholars of color in academia.

Kohout, J. & Pion, G. (1990). Participation of ethnic minorities in psychology: Where do we stand today? In Stricker, G., Davis-Russell, E., Bourg, E., Duran, E., Hammond, W. R. (Eds.), Toward ethnic diversification in psychology education and training (pp. 153–165). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

This chapter examines ethnic minority participation in psychology at all stages of the academic pipeline from high school to the doctoral program. The intention is to identify the major points of attrition along the educational system for these students.

Journal Articles

Blickenstaff, J.C. (2005). Women and science careers: Leaky pipeline or gender filter? Gender and Education, 17, 369-386.

This article reviews literature that addresses the underrepresentation of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.  Suggestions for changes to science education are discussed.

Carbonaro, W., Ellison, B. J., & Covay, E. (2011). Gender inequalities in the college pipeline. Social Science Research, 40(1), 120-135. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.07.004

The authors present a "college pipeline" model for understanding gender inequality in baccalaureate degree attainment. This model identifies the multiple pathways and outcomes involved in pursuing an undergraduate degree.  Reasons for the female advantage in attaining a degree, as well as exceptions to that advantage, are discussed.

Cochran, R. D. (2003). The minority rural health pipeline project: Potentially underachieving rural minority students in college. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 64(5-A), 1524.

This study investigates a summer enrichment program designed to prevent underachievement in rural minority college students interested in healthcare professions.

Chapa, J., & De La Rosa, B. (2006). The problematic pipeline: Demographic trends and Latino participation in graduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 5(3), 203-221. doi:10.1177/1538192706288808.

This article explores the growth trends of the Latino population in the United States and the number of Latinos in the academic pipeline.  It cautions that without the proper action, the number of Latinos in the pipeline will not keep pace with the population. 

Collins, P., & Hopson, R. (2007). Building leadership development, social justice, and social change in evaluation through a pipeline program. In K. M. Hannum, J. W. Martineau, & C. Reinelt (Eds). The handbook of leadership development evaluation (pp. 173-198). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

This chapter evaluates the effectiveness of specific types of pipeline leadership development programs.  The authors describe ways to develop, plan, and implement an evaluation process, and conclude with a summary of the challenges and future directions for pipeline leadership programs. 

Cooper, C. R., Chavira, G., & Mena, D. D. (2005). From pipelines to partnerships: A synthesis of research on how diverse families, schools, and communities support children's pathways through school. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 10(4), 407–430.

This article explains the relationship between five issues related to the academic pipeline problem among ethnically diverse students. Major factors influencing progress for this population include demographics; family support; exposure to math and language; links among family, schools, peers, and communities; and educational partnerships.

Daniel, J. (2009). Next generation: A mentoring program for Black female psychologists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(3), 299-305. doi:10.1037/a0013891.

This article describes a mentoring program designed for Black female psychologists with a commitment to academic research.

Erwin, K., Blumenthal, D. S., Chapel, T., & Allwood, L. V. (2004). Building an academic–community partnership for increasing the representation of minorities in the health professions. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 15(4), 589–602.

This study evaluated collaboration among academic and community partners in a program to recruit African American youth into the health professions. The health career pipeline consisted of 14 subprograms designed to enrich academic science curricula, stimulate the interest of students in health careers, and facilitate entry into professional schools and other graduate-level educational programs.

Gills, J., Schmukler, K., Azmitia, M., & Crosby, F. (2008). Affirmative action and ethnic minority university students: Enlarging pipelines to support success. Social development, social inequalities, and social justice (pp. 81-107). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group/Lawrence Erlbaum.

This chapter examines two types of affirmative action policies --outreach practices and race sensitive admission processes   -- to determine their effectiveness.  While critics often point to problems with the race sensitive admission processes, these authors claim those programs have done more good than harm.  These programs are evaluated from both a social and developmental psychology perspective.  

Good, C., Aronson, J., & Harder, J. (2008). Problems in the pipeline: Stereotype threat and women's achievement in high-level math courses. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(1), 17-28. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2007.10.004.

This article describes a field study involving stereotype threat among women in higher level college math courses.  Results showed that even highly motivated and proficient students are susceptible to the effects of stereotype threat. 

Goulden, M., Mason, M. A., & Frasch, K. (2011). Keeping women in the science pipeline. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 638(1), 141-162.

This article draws on multiple sources of data, including the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, to better understand the loss of female scientists in the pre-tenure phase of their careers.  Family-related factors, such as marriage and childbirth, were identified as central to this phenomenon.  The authors discuss the need for family-responsive institutional policies in order to address this concern. 

Grumbach, K., & Mendoza, R. (2008). Disparities in human resources: Addressing the lack of diversity in the health professions. Health Affairs, 22, 413-422.

The health field has seen an underrepresentation of African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans.  This article proposes a variety of strategies to increase the number of people from these groups in health related professions. 

Hernandez, J., & Lopez, M. (2007). Leaking pipeline: Issues impacting Latino/a college student retention. Minority student retention: The best of Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice (pp. 99-122). Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Co.

This chapter recognizes the growth of Latino/as in college and addresses issues related to caring for the personal, environmental, involvement, and socio-cultural needs of a diverse group of students.  

Holley, K. A., & Gardner, S. (2012). Navigating the pipeline: How socio-cultural influences impact first-generation doctoral students. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 5(2), 112-121. doi:10.1037/a0026840

Based on interviews with 20 first-generation doctoral students, this article discusses the impact of the students’ identity, discipline, institution, finances, and family on the graduate school experience. Recommendations for practice are addressed.

Jackson, J.F.L. (2007). Strengthening the African American educational pipeline: Informing research, policy, and practice. New York: SUNY Press.

This book discusses the strategies for African Americans throughout the educational pipeline from preschool through higher education. 

Jayaratne, T. E., Thomas, N. G., & Trautmann, M., (2003). Intervention program to keep girls in the science pipeline: Outcome differences by ethnic status. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(4), 393–414.

This study evaluated a 2-week residential program aimed at enhancing the science interest and persistence of high-achieving 8th grade girls.

Littleford, L. N., Ong, K. S., Tseng, A., Milliken, J. C., & Humy, S. L. (2010). Perceptions of European American and African American instructors teaching race-focused courses. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 3(4), 230-244. doi:10.1037/a0020950

Describes the construction and validation of the Perceptions of Diversity Instructors (PDI-32) measure, which assesses college students' ratings of instructors teaching a race-focused diversity course. Data collected with this measure indicated that students expected African American instructors to be more biased and European American instructors to have less content expertise. Students' expectation of professor bias mediated the relationship between the professor's race/ethnicity and students' evaluations.

Maton, K. I., Kohout, J. L., Wicherski, M., Leary, G. E., & Vinokurov, A. (2006). Minority students of color and the psychology graduate pipeline: Disquieting and encouraging trends, 1989–2003. American Psychologist, 61(2), 117–131.

Trends in the minority graduate pipeline are examined. Promising trends include a rise in the percentage (to nearly 25%) of minority psychology students receiving the bachelor's degree and a rise to more than 20% receiving the master's degree. Troubling trends include the stalling of growth in minority doctoral degree receipt since 1999 and the lack of growth in the percentage of African American and Hispanic/Latino(a) students entering doctoral programs.

Mazon, M. R., & Ross, H. (1990). Minorities in the higher education pipeline: A critical view. Western Journal of Black Studies, 14(3), 159–165.

For minority students, the higher education pipeline begins in high school and feeds into community colleges. The low numbers of minorities in four-year institutions and doctoral and master's degree programs are discussed. Recommendations are made for increasing the minority student population and the participation of minority faculty.

Museus, S. D. (2011). Generating ethnic minority student success (GEMS): A qualitative analysis of high-performing institutions.  Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 4(3), 147-162.

This study used interview data and institutional documents to identify several institutional factors that contribute to racial/ ethnic minority student success at predominantly White institutions with high racial/ ethnic minority student retention and graduation rates.

Phillip-Evans, V. B. (1999). The academic pipeline: Race, gender, and informal contacts in graduate school. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 60(4-A), 1335.

This article emphasizes the importance of informal contacts with faculty as a factor in determining the trajectory of female minority doctoral students.

Puljak, L., Kojndzic, S., & Sapunar, D. (2008). Gender and academic medicine: A good pipeline of women graduates is not advancing. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 20(3), 273-278. doi:10.1080/10401330802199617.

While more women are applying to, enrolling in, and graduating from medical school they are still underrepresented among faculty and leadership.

Rogers, M. R., & Molina, L. E. (2006). Exemplary efforts in psychology to recruit and retain graduate students of color. American Psychologist, 61(2), 143–156.

The study profiles recruitment and retention strategies used at 11 departments and programs considered to be making exemplary efforts to attract and retain minority students of color.

Russell, M. L. (2005). Traveling the road to success: A discourse on persistence throughout the science pipeline with African American students at a predominantly White institution. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42(6), 691–715.

This study focuses on 11 African American undergraduate seniors in a biology degree program at a predominantly White research institution in the southeastern United States. In discussing their high school and college experiences through the pipeline, participants identified factors related to their academic persistence.

Spiegel, D.J. (2008). Building a pipeline for diversity through intersectional collaboration. Higher Education, 55, 519-535.

This article presents the results of a collaborative project called LEAD (Leadership Education and Development) to ready underrepresented groups for higher education.  Each partner’s involvement, the program’s sustainability, and the outcomes are discussed and analyzed. 

Strayhorn, T. L. (2011).  Bridging the pipeline: Increasing underrepresented students’ preparation for college through a summer bridge program.  American Behavioral Scientist, 55(2), 142-159.

Based on quantitative data, this study details the positive effects of college preparatory summer bridge programs (SBPs) for admitted students.  These include: specific academic skills (such as use of technology and interpreting syllabi) and academic self-efficacy, which were found to positively predict first-semester grades.

Suinn, R., & Borrayo, E. (2008). The ethnicity gap: The past, present, and future. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(6), 646-651. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.39.6.646.

This article examines trends in the growth of minority groups in the US as well as the growth of those groups in psychology in the areas of mental health services, the educational pipeline, and the leadership of the APA.  The authors examine the past and present and provide suggestions for the future.

Thurmond, V. B., & Cregler, L. L. (1999). Why students drop out of the pipeline to health professions careers: A follow-up of gifted minority high school students. Academic Medicine, 74(4), 448–451.

The study tracked the career choices of a group of gifted minority students who participated in the Student Educational Enrichment Program (SEEP) at the Medical College of Georgia.

Yutrzenka, B. A., Todd-Bazemore, E., & Caraway, S. J. (1999). Four Winds: The evolution of culturally inclusive clinical psychology training for Native Americans. International Review of Psychiatry, 11(2-3), 129–135.

Native Americans are substantially underrepresented along all levels of the educational pipeline and among ethnic minority psychologists. This article introduces a program at the University of South Dakota called the Four Winds.” This culturally inclusive training program provides a comprehensive educational experience that emphasizes achieving a balance between the students' Native culture and their academic training and has the ultimate goal of increasing the number of Native Americans who enter the educational pipeline and complete their doctoral training in clinical psychology.”

Web Sites and Other Resources

The Pipeline

http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/programs/recruitment/minority-research.aspx

The Pipeline is published through the American Psychological Association (APA)/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Project. The Pipeline provides information on the progress of the APA/NIGMS project on Developing Minority Biomedical Talent in Psychology and facilitates communication among the participants in the project.

Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs. (2000, May). Model strategies for ethnic minority recruitment and retention in higher education. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/programs/recruitment/model-strategies.pdf

This special section consists of all model strategies previously published in the Communiqué from 1995–1999. It also consists of the strategies of those three psychology departments that were the awardees of the inaugural 1999 APA Suinn Minority Achievement Award.

Figueroa-Garcia, A., Goodwin, K., Skourtes, S., & Holliday, B. G. (1998, March). Psychology education and careers #1: Guidebook for high school students of color. http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/hs-students.aspx

This pamphlet provides advice to high school students who might be interested in pursuing education and careers in psychology.

Figueroa-Garcia, A., Goodwin, K., Skourtes, S., & Hollida, B. G. (1998, March). Psychology education and careers #2: Guidebook for college students of color. http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/grad-school.aspx

This pamphlet provides advice to college students of color interested in pursuing education and career in psychology.

Committee of Students Concerned With Ethnic Issues (March, 1998). Psychology education and careers #3: Guidebook for college students of color applying to graduate and professional programs. http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/grad-school.aspx

Describes the process for applying to graduate/professional education in psychology and provides great tips!

Myers, H. F., Hailstorks, R. J., Leung, P., McCarty, R., Miranda, M., Singleton, E. G., Smedley, B. D., & Wohlford, P. (1998, March). Psychology education and careers #4: Resources for psychology training programs recruiting students of color. http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/ethnic-minority.aspx

The APA Commission on Ethic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology. Provides a quick guide to action in support of increased student minority recruitment and retention.

Chang, J. C. (n.d.). Women and minorities in the science, mathematics and engineering pipeline. http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/women.html

Currently, all along the educational pipeline, students are being lost in the fields of science, mathematics and engineering. Moreover, the participation and persistence rates of women and minorities in these fields are dramatically lower than those of the general student population. This article examines factors affecting interests in science, challenges in retaining students and new efforts at retaining underrepresented students.