Work

Expanding Your Horizons: The Impact of a One-day STEM Conference on Middle School Girls’ and Parents’ Attitude Toward STEM Careers

Year: 2020

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Expanding Your Horizons: The Impact Of A One-Day STEM Conference On Middle School Girls’ and Parents’ Attitude Toward STEM CareersAbstractThis paper is based on a survey of 172 middle school girls and 38 parents who attended a one-day, Expanding Your Horizons (EYH conference) at a large, metropolitan, public university.The purpose of the EYH conference is to encourage girls to consider science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Pre-/post questions on the girls’ survey showedpositive gains after the conference in knowledge of the different STEM fields (57.4% gain),interest in studying STEM (29.5% gain), and confidence in their math skills (14.4% gain).Parents had a positive gain of 34.2% in knowledge of the different STEM fields after theconference, and 65% of parents thought that their daughter was likely to choose a STEM major.In a longitudinal study of EYH participants, Virnoche and Eschenbach1 found that interest inSTEM wanes over time, and one participant reported a diminished sense of self-confidence inher math and science skills. To sustain interest in STEM, multiple interventions need to beoffered over the high school years that involve parents. There is also a need for follow upoutreach activities that are structured to prepare girls for and retain girls in STEM pathways.

Source: ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21364

Authors: Lisa Massi, Charles Reilly, Diane Johnson, Leslie Castner

Institution: University of Central Florida

Language: English

Topic: Career Development and Diversity

Subfield: Applied Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation