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1. Stability and changes in high school students' STEM career expectations: Variability based on STEM support and parent education

   https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12067  

   Starr, Christine R. ; Ramos Carranza, Perla ; Simpkins, Sandra D. ( January 2022 , Journal of adolescence)

   Introduction Why do some students maintain their career expectations in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), whereas others change their expectations? Using situated expectancy-value and social cognitive career theories, we sought to investigate the extent to which STEM support predicted changes in students' STEM career expectations during high school, and if these processes varied by whether the student had college educated or noncollege educated parents. Methods Using the nationally representative data set of the High School Longitudinal Study, we investigated the predictors of changes in US students' STEM career expectations from 9th to 11th grade (n = 13,100, 54% noncollege educated parents, 51% girls, 55% White, 21% Latinx, 12% Black). Results and Conclusions Students with noncollege educated parents were significantly more likely to change from STEM to non-STEM career expectations by 11th grade or to have stable non-STEM career expectations (compared to having stable STEM expectations or changing from non-STEM to STEM expectations). Additionally, students with noncollege educated parents were less likely to receive STEM support from parents and attend extracurricular activities compared to students with college educated parents. However, when examining the predictors among students with noncollege educated parents, students were more likely to maintain their expectations for a STEM career from 9th to 11th grade (compared to switching to a non-STEM career) if they had parental STEM support. Additionally, all students regardless of parents' level of education were more likely to maintain their expectations for a STEM career (vs. switching to a non-STEM career) through high school if they received teacher STEM support. Furthermore, students were more likely to develop STEM career expectations (vs. maintaining non-STEM career expectations) if they had parent STEM support. These findings highlight how parent and teacher STEM support may bolster STEM career expectations, particularly among students with noncollege educated parents. 

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2. The Impact of Participating in College-Run STEM Clubs and Programs on Students’ STEM Career Aspirations

   https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681221086445  

   Kitchen, Joseph A. ; Chen, Chen ; Sonnert, Gerhard ; Sadler, Philip ( May 2022 , Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education)

   The United States continues to invest considerable resources into developing the next generation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent. Efforts to shore up interest in pursuing STEM careers span decades and have increasingly focused on boosting interest among diverse student populations. Policymakers have called for engaging students in a greater STEM ecology of support that extends beyond the traditional classroom environment to increase student STEM career interest. Yet, few robust studies exist exploring the efficacy of many programmatic efforts and initiatives outside the regular curriculum intended to foster STEM interest. To maximize STEM education investments, promote wise policies, and help achieve the aim of creating STEM learning ecosystems that benefit diverse student populations and meet the nation’s STEM goals, it is crucial to examine the effectiveness of these kinds of STEM education initiatives in promoting STEM career aspirations.

   The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the impact of one popular, yet understudied, STEM education initiative on students’ STEM career aspirations: participation in a university- or college-run STEM club or program activity (CPA) during high school. Specifically, we studied whether participation in a college-run STEM CPA at a postsecondary institution during high school was related to college-going students’ STEM career aspirations, and we examined whether that relationship differed depending on student characteristics and prior STEM interests.

   We conducted a quasi-experimental investigation to explore the impact of participation in university- or college-run STEM CPAs on college-going students’ STEM career aspirations. We administered a retrospective cohort survey to students at 27 colleges and universities nationwide resulting in a sample of 15,847 respondents. An inverse probability of treatment weighted logistic regression model with a robust set of controls was computed to estimate the odds of expressing STEM career aspirations among those who participated in college-run STEM CPAs compared with the odds expressed among students who did not participate. Our weighting accounted for self-selection effects.

   Quasi-experimental modeling results indicated that participation in university- or college-run STEM CPAs had a significant impact on the odds that college-going students would express STEM career aspirations relative to students who did not participate. The odds of expressing interest in a STEM career among participants in STEM CPAs were 1.49 times those of the control group. Robustness checks confirmed our results. The result held true for students whether or not they expressed interest in STEM careers prior to participation in STEM CPAs, and it held true across a diverse range of student characteristics (e.g., race, parental education, gender, standardized test scores, and family/school encouragement).

   Results suggest that university- and college-run STEM CPAs play an important role in the STEM education ecology, serving the national goal of expanding the pool of college-going students who aspire to STEM careers. Moreover, results showed that participation in university- and college-run STEM CPAs during high school is equally effective across diverse student characteristics. Policymakers, educators, and those charged with making investment decisions in STEM education should seriously consider university- and college-run STEM CPAs as a promising vehicle to promote diverse students’ STEM career aspirations in the broader STEM learning ecosystem and as an important complement to other STEM learning environments.

    

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3. Exploring the role of 3D printing and STEM integration levels in students' STEM career interest

   https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13077  

   Cheng, Li ; Antonenko, Pavlo “Pasha” ; Ritzhaupt, Albert D. ; MacFadden, Bruce ( March 2021 , British Journal of Educational Technology)

   The use of 3D printing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning is a promising way for integrated STEM education. This study examined the influence of 3D printing infused STEM integration on students' interest in STEM careers, which is essential for students to participate in STEM disciplines and future STEM careers. The participants included 26 teachers across six states in the United States and their 1455 students in primary and secondary classrooms. Teachers' lesson plans were analysed to examine the level of 3D printing and STEM integration. Students' interest in STEM careers was measured using a previously validated career interest scale. Cluster analysis and multiple regression analysis indicated that girls were more interested in empathetic STEM careers, whereas boys were more interested in analytic STEM careers. While 3D printing integration level was not a significant predictor, teachers' STEM integration level positively predicted students' interest in both analytic and empathetic STEM careers.

   What is already known about this topic

   Student career interest in primary and secondary school predicts college degree and career choice.

   3D printing has the potential to improve students' interest in STEM careers.

   STEM career interest is associated with student gender.

   What this paper adds

   This study examined the role of 3D printing and STEM integration level and student gender in students' STEM career interest.

   Teachers' 3D printing integration level was not a significant predictor, but STEM integration level positively predicted students' interest in STEM careers.

   This study confirmed that boys were more interested in Analytic STEM careers, whereas girls were more interested in Empathetic STEM careers.

   Implications for practice and/or policy

   Student STEM career interest improves when teachers integrate STEM in their instruction.

   STEM instruction can be made relevant by focusing on empathetic aspects of STEM for girls, but caution should be exercised to minimise stereotyping.

    

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4. The Role of a Summer Field Experience in Fostering STEM Students' Socioemotional Perceptions and Social Justice Awareness as Preparation for a Science Teaching Career

   https://doi.org/10.5070/B89244648  

   Liu, Amy ; Toma, Shannon ; Levis-Fitzgerald, Marc ; Russell, Arlene A. ( May 2020 , Berkeley Review of Education)
5. Inside the STEM pipeline: Changes in students’ biomedical career plans across the college years

   https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe0985  

   Rosenzweig, Emily Q. ; Hecht, Cameron A. ; Priniski, Stacy J. ; Canning, Elizabeth A. ; Asher, Michael W. ; Tibbetts, Yoi ; Hyde, Janet S. ; Harackiewicz, Judith M. ( April 2021 , Science Advances)

   null (Ed.)

   Researchers often invoke the metaphor of a pipeline when studying participation in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), focusing on the important issue of students who “leak” from the pipeline, but largely ignoring students who persist in STEM. Using interview, survey, and institutional data over 6 years, we examined the experiences of 921 students who persisted in biomedical fields through college graduation and planned to pursue biomedical careers. Despite remaining in the biomedical pipeline, almost half of these students changed their career plans, which was almost twice the number of students who abandoned biomedical career paths altogether. Women changed plans more often and were more likely than men to change to a career requiring fewer years of post-graduate education. Results highlight the importance of studying within-pipeline patterns rather than focusing only on why students leave STEM fields. 

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