In response to the low representation of Latinx adults in STEM occupations, this community-based participatory action research study aims to increase the number of middle school youths developing STEM career identities and entering high school with the intention to pursue STEM careers. The students were provided with summer and after-school activities focusing on network science and career development curricula. Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design and career narratives, this study examined the changes in STEM and career self-efficacy, as well as career identity. The results show improvements in self-efficacy, an increased number of youths with intentions of pursuing future STEM career opportunities, and deeper reflections on their talents and skills after program participation. This paper also describes the program development and implementation in detail, as well as the adaptations that resulted from COVID-19, for scholars and educators designing similar programs. This study provides promising evidence for the quality of STEM and career development lessons in supporting the emergence of a STEM career identity and self-efficacy. 
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                            Impact of Short-Duration Research Experiences on STEM Self-Efficacy among Early-Stage, Rural, First-Generation College Students
                        
                    
    
            In rural West Virginia, the First2 Network aims to improve STEM persistence by including students in creating solutions to STEM attrition. A research program for rising first-year students in STEM majors is discussed here. The authors assessed students’ STEM education and career plans, identity, efficacy, and sense of school of belonging before and after the program. Students’ STEM identity, efficacy, and school belonging improved after participation. 
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                            - PAR ID:
- 10327687
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2476-101X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 42 to 49
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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