To be prepared to succeed in STEM college majors and careers,
students must develop an academic identity and the motivational
resources that allow them to work hard and persist despite obstacles
and setbacks. From the large literatures on academic motivation and
self-perceptions (Wigfield, Eccles, Schiefele, Roeser, & Davis-Kean,
2006), the common measures committee selected four markers of
Academic Identity, which are defined broadly as comprising
students’ deeply held views of themselves and their potential to
enjoy and succeed in STEM classes and careers.