Examining Science Identity in New Meteorology Students at the University of Oklahoma

When students can see themselves as scientists, i.e., they have a science identity, they are more likely to remain in science. Absence of a science identity has been highlighted by previous studies as a significant factor in the lack of diversity in STEM fields. In this study, we utilize pre- and post-course surveys to understand science identity in new meteorology students at the University of Oklahoma. The students being surveyed are enrolled in Introduction to Atmospheric Science, a first-year course for meteorology majors. Surveys like those conducted by Schinske et al. (2016) in introductory biology classrooms were administered between 2020 and 2024 to begin to understand how students viewed the type of people who do meteorology/atmospheric science and how they viewed themselves as scientists. As the course curriculum included presentations and career-related talks from numerous guest speakers working in the field, the pre- and post- course surveys were compared to see the impact of the course on student perceptions, career interests, and views about who does science. Results show a large increase in students' interest in non-broadcast private sector meteorology, at the expense of broadcast meteorology, between pre- and post-course surveys. Students self-identifying as non-male had a much broader range of career interests than students identifying as male. Overall, students’ agreement with the statement “I know of one or more meteorologists/atmospheric scientists to whom I can personally relate” increased between pre- and post-course surveys, but this was driven by male students non-male students' agreement with the statement decreased slightly. Other interesting pre- and post-course changes between male and non-male students emerged from the results, including confidence in their ability to do meteorology. Additional analysis in relation to race, ethnicity, and first-generation status is ongoing. Further analysis and understanding of who our students are is essential to building a sense of belonging and identity in this course and our field.