An Informal Science Education Program's Impact on STEM Major and STEM Career Outcomes

Autor/inn/en	Habig, Bobby; Gupta, Preeti; Levine, Brian; Adams, Jennifer
Titel	An Informal Science Education Program's Impact on STEM Major and STEM Career Outcomes
Quelle	In: Research in Science Education, 50 (2020) 3, S.1051-1074 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Habig, Bobby)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0157-244X
DOI	10.1007/s11165-018-9722-y
Schlagwörter	Informal Education; STEM Education; Science Education; Access to Education; Science Careers; Career Choice; Females; Minority Group Students; Disproportionate Representation; Longitudinal Studies; Museums; Alumni; Career Development; History; Majors (Students); Outcomes of Education; Student Participation; Program Design; Academic Persistence; Self Concept; Social Networks; Educational Experience + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Informelle Bildung; Nichtformale Bildung; STEM; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Education; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Weibliches Geschlecht; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Museum; Museumswesen; Museen; Berufsentwicklung; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Schülermitarbeit; Schülermitwirkung; Studentische Mitbestimmung; Programme design; Programmaufbau; Programmplanung; Selbstkonzept; Social network; Soziales Netzwerk; Bildungserfahrung
Abstract	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 USA, 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. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01