Research Careers for Hispanic Students: Testing the Multiple Worlds Model

The overall goal of this proposal is to examine changes in motivation, beliefs, and behaviors related to pursuing careers in biomedical and behavioral science among Hispanic1high school students. The proposal’s key innovations include access to an underrepresented minority population at a critical educational stage, testing an important social scientific theory of educational achievement (Phelan, Davison, and Yu’s “multiple worlds” framework) in this context; and application of a longitudinal multi-site mixed-methods design that will produce richer quantitative and qualitative data than typical studies The “multiple worlds” framework posits that students act simultaneously in at least 3 worlds, characterized by their academics, their family, and their peers. Many interventions directed at increasing the proportion of underrepresented minorities entering research careers have focused primarily on the academic corner of this triangle of worlds, seeking to enrich academic opportunities. Phelan’s studies found that for Hispanic students, however, the other two corners, family and peers, often have knowledge or values that are incongruent with the academic system, and students must cross boundaries between worlds in order to pursue educational achievement.