Navigating Science Pathways: Belonging Mediates the Impact of Goal Congruity on Persistence (but Not Life Satisfaction) Among Indigenous Students.

ABSTRACT: Indigenous/Native Americans remain highly underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Their underrepresentation may be due, in part, to the incongruity between personally valued goals (e.g., the communal goal of "giving back" to one's community and/or the agentic goal of "independence") and opportunities to satisfy those goals in STEM careers (i.e., affordances). Goal congruity theory posits that individuals' attitudes towards a social role (e.g., being a scientist) are influenced by the communal/agentic goal affordances associated with that role and the congruity between those affordances and personally valued goals. This longitudinal research study followed a large sample of Indigenous people pursuing STEM degrees/careers to investigate the direct

SUBMITTER: Yu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12369512 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature