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Peer-reviewed article

An informal science education program's impact on STEM major and STEM career outcomes

April 4, 2019 | Public Programs

While there is extensive evidence that STEM careers can be important pathways for augmenting social mobility and for increasing individual prestige, many youth perceive a STEM trajectory as an unattractive option. In the US, women and members of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups, continue to be underrepresented across STEM disciplines. One vehicle for generating and sustaining interest in STEM is providing youth long-term access to informal science education (ISE) institutions. Here, we incorporate triangulation methods, collecting and synthesizing both qualitative and quantitative data, to examine how participation in a longitudinal ISE out-of-school time (OST) program facilitated by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) impacted the STEM trajectories of 66 alumni. Findings revealed that 83.2% of alumni engaged in a STEM major, and 63.1% in a STEM career, the majority whom were females and/or members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Based on interviews with a purposeful sample of 21 AMNH alumni, we identified four program design principles that contributed to persistence in STEM: (1) affording multiple opportunities to become practitioners of science; (2) providing exposure to and repeated experiences with STEM professionals such as scientists, educators, and graduate students to build social networks; (3) furnishing opportunities for participants to develop shared science identities with like-minded individuals; and (4) offering exposure to and preparation for a variety of STEM majors and STEM careers so that youth can engage in discovering possible selves. These findings support our central thesis that long-term engagement in ISE OST programs fosters persistence in STEM.

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  • REVISE logo
    Author
    American Museum of Natural History
  • REVISE logo
    Author
    American Museum of Natural History
  • Brian Levine
    Author
    American Museum of Natural History
  • 2013 10 24 035c225aa9a1e7cd76a5346612b91472 bpfull
    Author
    University of Calgary
  • Citation

    DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-018-9722-y
    ISSN : 1573-1898
    Publication Name: Research in Science Education
    Resource Type: Research | Research Products
    Discipline: Life science | Physics | Social science and psychology
    Audience: Middle School Children (11-13) | Youth/Teen (up to 17) | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Summer and Extended Camps | Museum and Science Center Programs
    Access and Inclusion: Ethnic/Racial | Women and Girls

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