A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Impact of Middle School STEM Education: Where Are All the Students of Color?

Autor/inn/en	Thomas, Danielle R.; Larwin, Karen H.
Titel	A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Impact of Middle School STEM Education: Where Are All the Students of Color?
Quelle	In: International Journal of STEM Education, 10 (2023), Artikel 43 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Thomas, Danielle R.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
DOI	10.1186/s40594-023-00425-8
Schlagwörter	Meta Analysis; Middle School Students; Minority Group Students; STEM Education; African American Students; Hispanic American Students; First Generation College Students; Academic Achievement; Graduation Rate; Disproportionate Representation; Student Participation; Outcomes of Education; Equal Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Meta-analysis; Metaanalyse; Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; STEM; African Americans; Afroamerikaner; Studentin; Hispanic; Hispanic Americans; Hispanoamerikaner; Schulleistung; Schülermitarbeit; Schülermitwirkung; Studentische Mitbestimmung; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg
Abstract	Background: Integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education initiatives are becoming an increasingly popular approach to narrow the opportunity gap among underrepresented minority (i.e., Black, Hispanic, and first-generation) students. However, there are limited studies on the impact of exposure to integrated STEM education on academic achievement and an even lesser amount on performance among underrepresented minority (URM) groups. Students exposed to STEM programming in middle school are more likely to pursue a STEM field in college or a STEM-related career. However, despite increases in middle school STEM programming initiatives, STEM college graduation rates have declined, particularly among URM populations. This meta-analysis aims to determine the effectiveness of STEM education in middle school, focusing on URM students. Results: A total of 20 studies containing 45 independent samples met the study criteria. The studies included were published from January 1, 2011 to May 1, 2022, and identified from the following academic databases: ERIC, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and SCOPUS. Integrated STEM programming was most impactful when: engineering was incorporated into science courses and at full STEM integration, occurring over one academic year (d = 0.89) and occurring in 8th grade (d = 1.55). Overall, the effect size estimate demonstrated heterogeneity, with a large positive significant effect across the studies (d = 0.558, 95% CI [0.514-0.603], p < 0.001), indicating a significant impact on student achievement. The most notable finding was the lack of empirical studies involving URM groups, with only one effect size estimate reported for Black students and other minority groups and 40 effect size estimates for non-minority groups revealing a non-significant difference in effect size estimates. Conclusions: Students benefit from STEM program participation, with the average STEM student outperforming approximately 70% of their same-age, same-grade peers not participating in STEM programming. In particular, URM students benefit even more from quality integrated STEM education initiatives, given one caveat--students must be given the opportunity. We conclude that the issue is not that URM students are not academically benefiting from middle school integrated STEM education programs, based on the available research--they are merely not participating. We highlight the need and suggest interventions for providing collaborative and focused attention on the societal and cultural factors impacting URM student participation and retention in integrated STEM education programs. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01