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In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Kathrin Jonkmann and Dr. Julia Zimmermann, Judith Sarah Preuß published her new study entitled: "Academic self-efficacy and value beliefs of international STEM and non-STEM university students in Germany from an intersectional perspective." The study was published in the special issue "Sticking with STEM: Who Comes, Who Stays, Who Goes, and Why?" of the journal Education Science, which followed the conference. The study found that first-time international students whose parents did not go to college have lower academic self-efficacy - one of several potential barriers to academic success. Similarly, students from many regions of origin outside of Western Europe experience increased study-related psychological costs, such as stresses related to the effort of studying or study-related worries. These, too, can adversely affect their success in college. "Our work was primarily concerned with identifying subgroups of international students who are at increased risk of experiencing difficulties during the course of their studies. Factors we examined for this purpose were study-related value beliefs and (academic) self-efficacy expectations in interaction with gender and parental academic and cultural background," explains Judith Sarah Preuß.

Best Poster Award for clear and concise presentation

In the study, the results of which Judith Sarah Preuß presented with a poster at last year's "Network Gender & STEM" conference, the researchers focused on international STEM students' sense of university belonging, which is another important predictor of academic success. With the study "A 'chilly climate' for female international students in STEM? An intersectional perspective on the determinants of sense of university belonging among international students in Germany in STEM and non-STEM subjects," she found that the intersection of several possible discriminatory factors can lead to a lower sense of belonging. For example, female students from Central and Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific of both subject groups tended to show a lower sense of university belonging than their male peers, while female students in the other country groups had an advantage. Therefore, female students from these country groups could particularly benefit from interventions to strengthen their sense of university belonging. Possible interventions would be to promote their host culture orientation or to create more opportunities to connect with other international and German students. For this poster, our CATALPA member Judith Sarah Preuß received the award presented by Prof. Dr. Jacquelynne S. Eccles because of the exciting findings, but also because of the structure and preparation of the findings.

The InterMINT project

In the project associated with CATALPA, Judith Sarah Preuß, Dr. Julia Zimmermann and Prof. Dr. Kathrin Jonkmann shed light on study success factors of international students in order to develop interventions to support this group at German universities. "In this way, we hope to support teaching with tangible knowledge and ensure greater equality of opportunity," concludes Judith Sarah Preuß. After all, women are often underrepresented in STEM subjects. But what if other factors come into play that could possibly impair the connection and the feeling of belonging? Do language barriers and cultural differences have an additional hindering effect? The researchers in the BMBF-funded project are addressing these and other questions.