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Community colleges are rarely at the forefront of conversations regarding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Attracting diverse students into STEM fields is an important issue, and equally important is the need for science students to be prepared for and interested in tackling pressing societal issues. This study investigated the research question, 'Which sustainability-related career outcome expectation measures are related to community college students' interest in pursuing a career in engineering and science?' Data for this study came from a large survey administered at 17 US, 2-year institutions. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to predict which sustainability-related career outcome students hoped to directly address with their chosen engineering and science career field. Our results emphasize a broad range of sustainability-related career outcomes community college students (particularly women and first-generation college students) interested in various engineering and science disciplines seek to address. Community college students interested in environmental science, math, and physics careers were the only science fields interested in addressing energy-related topics. Whereas students seeking a career in biomedical, civil, mechanical, and electrical/computer engineering were more likely to be interested in addressing energy-related concerns. Women, irrespective of their desired science career, were more likely to be interested in addressing issues pertaining to disease, poverty and distribution of wealth and resources, and food availability. This work emphasizes the types of sustainability-related outcomes that can be leveraged when preparing community college students for future careers in science and engineering.

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We report on a study of the effect of peers' interest in high school biology, chemistry, and physics classes on students' STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)-related career intentions and course achievement. We define an interest quorum as a science class where students perceive a high level of interest for the subject matter from their classmates. We hypothesized that students who experience such an interest quorum are more likely to choose STEM careers. Using data from a national survey study of students' experiences in high school science, we compared the effect of five levels of peer interest reported in biology, chemistry, and physics courses on students' STEM career intentions. The results support our hypothesis, showing a strong, positive effect of an interest quorum even after controlling for differences between students that pose competing hypotheses such as previous STEM career interest, academic achievement, family support for mathematics and science, and gender. Smaller positive effects of interest quorums were observed for course performance in some cases, with no detrimental effects observed across the study. Last, significant effects persisted even after controlling for differences in teaching quality. This work emphasizes the likely importance of interest quorums for creating classroom environments that increase students' intentions toward STEM careers while enhancing or maintaining course performance.

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